Run of the Gauntlet
by Pikajenn
Summary: Lance is blackmailed into joining Team Rocket. But what does Ash have anything to do with it?
1. Run of the Gauntlet--Prologue through Ch...

Run of the Gauntlet  
**PikaJenn's Disclaimer:** This is a story I am posting for my friend Banjodog. She holds exclusive rights to this story, it's plot, and any characters you don't recognize. Okay, on to her own disclaimer. Aren't they fun!!

Please review and leave this first time author some great reviews!!

Prologue through Chap. One  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Run of the Gauntlet  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I own a pencil and a piece of paper. Nothing more of true value. Nintendo owns Pokémon.  
  
Summary: One of my favorite Pokémon stories that I have written so far. Lance is forced to choose between a rock and hard place, Mewtwo makes a huge appearance, an interesting and a major revelation on who Ash's father is.  
  
*Au contraire mon ami. French for "On the contrary, my friend (masculine form)." Appears a little further down.   
  
Gauntlet: n. A severe test; ordeal  
  
Prologue  
  
"You'll never get away with this," a scratchy, tired, and angry voice said venemously, shaking with hatred. The owner of the voice was cut in more places than he could count, bleeding from all of them, and chained to the floor. And his pokémon were gone. He was virtually nothing without his pokémon. They were what he was famous for.   
  
There was virtually no light, but that would not have mattered anyway, for his eyes were so bloodshot that all he could see was red. It was cold and so hard that even sleep could not block the pain and discomfort out. Every nerve cell in his body was throbbing, crying out in horrified protest anytime he moved even just a twitch. His jet black hair was matted and tangled, his red eyes glazed over in pain. It was too much. And yet he survived it.  
  
The dark figure that stood outside his cramped prison laughed heartily, evily. A soft growling could be heard as well. _A Persian_, the cut, blistered, bruised prisoner thought. _Cat pokémon. Height: 3' 3". Weight: 71 pounds. Tough to raise because of its fickle meanness.Evolution of Meowth. And this one was about level 27. Enough experience to have evolved from a Meowth, yet had not been in enough battles to be at a high level.   
_  
"I believe that I already have gotten away with it, Lance" the figure said in his deep voice that sounded digitally altered. Lance scowled, his brow furrowing in severe disapproval.   
  
"I'm the leader of the Elite Four. You don't think that people won't notice my disappearance? They'll come looking for me. Every trainer and master around for miles will be searching high and low for me," Lance challenged. His captor laughed again.   
  
"That, mister leader of the Elite Four, is exactly on what I am counting on."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Tell me, Lance. Do you recognize this boy?" his captor asked, tossing a photo to Lance. It landed and skidded to a few inches within Lance. It ended up upside down, but Lance could have recognized that face anywhere. Even in a room full of identical people, Lance would be able to pick him out.  
  
"Ash Ketchum..." Lance responded, his dry throat cracking under the new emotional wave that threatened to drown him.   
  
"That's right. If your theory is correct, then he will search for you too. And that's exactly what I want."  
  
"Leave him alone. He has done nothing to you," Lance replied dangerously. If any harm came upon Ash, Heaven have mercy upon those who tormented him.   
  
"Au contraire, mon ami.* He has done much. He has disgraced and beaten and humiliated my once two best agents. He has challenged Team Rocket and therefore challenged me. Plus, I hear he has a wonderfully strong Pikachu. One of the strongest in the world, if I'm not mistaken. Now, if you cooperate..."  
  
"I'll never cooperate with you, you murderous scum!" Lance spat back. The captor laughed once again.  
  
"Do you realize that if you don't cooperate with me, well then..." the captor said, picking up the photo. Lance lunged, but the chains held him back. "Well, just be glad that I've shown him to you one last time," he added almost nonchalantly. Horror spread across his face in the one great unspeakable terror to all like him.  
  
"DON'T YOU _DARE_ KILL HIM!!!"   
  
"I think, that you are in no position to make demands," came the reply, sounding mockingly regretful. The Persian growled with a menacing smile, the lips curling above inch long, ivory colored fangs. Lance gulped. To have those teeth meet his throat...  
  
"But, if you cooperate, no harm will come to the boy."  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Lance asked after a long pause. He was stuck between a rock and hard place. To actually work for this shadow man...but to lose Ash....  
  
"I want you to help me find _him_," the shadowman said, putting extra emphasis on 'him.' Once again Lance was tossed a picture and saw a pokémon never seen before. It looked like a Mew, only...not. Shadowman picked up the photo again and stuffed it in his pocket.   
  
"That's it? Find that pokémon?"  
  
"Don't underestimate him. That's pretty much it. Oh, and join Team Rocket."  
  
"I'll NEVER join Team Rocket!"  
  
"Either you join or Ash will die."  
  
"You can't make me do this...."  
  
"Choose. A or B. Life or death. Kill or be killed. No in betweens. No shades of gray. Choose."  
  
"I can't....I........I'll do it," Lance choked out his acceptance. The shadowman smiled evily and started to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Lance called out. The man turned. "If I'm going to be working for you, shouldn't I know who you are?"  
  
"No one knows who I am. But I'll let you see anyway," the man said with too much amusement for Lance's taste. The man stepped into the faded, dim and dying light and Lance reared back in horror.   
  
"Giovanni!?!?!?! How could you?! _You_!?!"   
  
"Well, Lance Ketchum of Pallet Town. Welcome to the Team."  
  
Chapter One  
  
Ash walked leisurely through the streets of Russet City, Pikachu riding happily on his shoulder. For once, they were on their own. The two were on a special training mission, where Ash could get no help from Brock or Misty. The two gym leaders were in Pallet Town, staying with Ash's mom, where they were enjoying a nice, relaxing vacation. Secretly, Ash was glad to be out on his own. It was how he had first envisioned it. Just him and Pikachu. Facing the world alone. Making discoveries on their own. Together.  
  
Russet City was beautiful this time of year. It was famous for its autumn colors and weather. The wind was crisp and fresh, sharpening senses long since dulled during the summer months. The trees were ablaze with nearly all colors of the spectrum, each dying leaf a tiny little rainbow. And for a city, it was quite peaceful.  
  
"Hey, Pikachu! Look!" Ash exclaimed.  
  
"Pi?" Pikachu replied in curiosity and turned to face his head towards the direction of Ash's gaze. Almost instantly, his brown eyes filled with delight.   
  
"It's the Autumn Fest!" Ash said to no one. He took off running towards the celebration, determined to have a good time.  
  
"Hey, you! Are you Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town?" a female voice called out. Ash skidded to a stop and turned. A girl, about eighteen, dressed in a summer dress the color of russet and brown sandles stood there, a smile on her face. She had long red hair and green eyes.  
  
"Yeah," Ash answered.  
  
"My name is Wendy, and I challenge you to a pokémon match!" Wendy announced loudly. Ash's mouth broke into a a grin.  
  
"You're on!" he said excitedly.   
  
"Three pokémon each, standard League rules," she said, pulling a miniature pokéball out.  
  
"Sounds good to me!" Ash replied and also pulled out a pokéball. Being the challenger, Wendy had to call out her pokémon first.   
  
"Wendy says, Pidgeot! Come out!"   
  
Ash pulled back his hat and prepared for the battle.   
  
"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash replied, knowing the electric was good against bird/flying.   
  
"Pidgeot! Sandstorm!" Wendy said and Pidgeot flew a little lower to the ground, so it could kick up the sand either. Pikachu shut his eyes against the stinging grains.   
  
"Pikachu! Retaliate! Thunder Bolt!" Ash countered. Eyes still shut, Pikachu leaped off the ground, out of the sandstorm's range and powered up. Electricity crackled and shot from the mouse's red cheeks, giving Pidgeot a nice shock.   
  
"Pidgeot! Peck!"   
  
Pidgeot divebombed Pikachu, its ivory beak attacking Pikachu's soft body.  
  
"Pikachu! Double team!"   
  
Pikachu obeyed, and within an instant, Pikachu had more than quadrupled its image, confusing Pidgeot. Pidgeot began to improvise, attacking each and every image that it saw. Once its back was turned to the original, Pikachu leaped and powered up for Thunder. It did so, the air crackling and hissing with the electricity. Pidgeot fell to the ground, unconcious.   
  
"Pidgeot! Return. Good job, Pidgeot. Wendy says, come out Rattata!"   
  
A tiny purple rat came out in a flash of red light, looking very energetic and with some nice looking incisors. Pikachu did not even flinch. The young mouse had not even broken a sweat yet and was no where near tiring. Ash decided to not waste time. By now, there were people watching, but neither competitor noticed.   
  
"Pikachu! Mega Punch!"   
  
Rattata tumbled away painfully, and hesitated before it tried to get up. Ash figured that Wendy had just gotten this Rattata, and because it was so low in level, she decided to get it more experience. Still, he could show no mercy.   
  
"Agility!" Ash shouted before Wendy could call out an attack for her Rattata. Whenever he was in battle, Ash's mind cleared, letting no other thought interrupt. It was all instinct and spur of the moment. Improvisation. And it always seemed to work.   
  
Rattata was out like a light. And it never got a chance to strike back. Ash felt a slight pang of guilt, but quickly shoved it away.   
  
"It's okay, Rattata. Wendy says, come out Geodude!"   
  
"Geo," the rock pokémon said deeply, prepared for a battle. Ash knew that Pikachu wasn't tired, but he saw his friend's mouth drop open slightly. Rock was extremely good against electric. Ash needed to strike first. It would be their only advantage. That and Pikachu's speed and intelligence.   
  
"Pikachu! Quick attack!" Ash shouted and Pikachu complied. Geodude flinched, but it did not look that hurt.   
  
"Geodude! Rock throw!"   
  
Pikachu dodged each and every rock that was thrown at him.   
  
"Thunder," Ash commanded softly, somehow feeling the power that Pikachu was gathering inside its own body. Thunder was one of Pikachu's strongest attacks.   
  
The Geodude was more surprised than hurt, but Ash could see some damage had been done, even if only by a little. Better than nothing.   
  
"Rockslide," Wendy said. Pikachu dodged the first rock, but recieved the second one in the jaw. Ash winced. That had to have hurt. Pikachu rubbed his jaw and and jumped high up into the air. Ash understood.   
  
"Electric Storm," Ash voiced.He had discovered this incredible attack that only a few Raichu's had ever been able to master, much less Pikachus.   
  
Pikachu curled up, focusing as much energy as possible. The sky suddenly grew dark, the clouds taking over, thunder rumbling. The lights around them flickered before dying. The thunder was much louder now and Wendy looked scared. As did Geodude.   
  
"Pikaaa......CHHHUUUU!" Pikachu yelled and released Electric Storm. Lightning came down from the clouds and traveled through Pikachu, who was acting as a sort of lightning rod. The Geodude was pumped full of thousands and thousands volts of electricity, nearing a million. Enough to make Geodude glow a dull orange. Pikachu stopped and fell to the ground, landing on his paws and panting. Geodude hovered a few minutes before falling on its back, eyes closed. It had fainted. Wendy ran over and tried to comfort her pokémon.  
  
"Ow! Geez, that's HOT!" she exclaimed, pulling her hand away. So, instead, she pulled out a pokéball and recalled Geodude. She held the ball lightly, the heat seeping through the wall.  
  
She stood up and examined the sight before her. Pikachu was snuggling in Ash's arms, Ash praising him.   
  
"Good job, Pikachu. That was incredible!" Ash said happily. The clouds had cleared and the lights had come back on.   
  
"That was a good match, Ash. You're a good trainer," Wendy commented. Ash smiled.  
  
"Thanks. You gave me a scare with that Geodude," Ash replied. Wendy forced a smile, which actually looked more like a grimace of pain.   
  
"I'll see you around," she said, slapping his shoulder. Ash's grin grew as Wendy turned and walked away, her dress billowing in the wind.   
  
Wendy darted into a dark alley and when she made sure she was alone, she grabbed her cell phone. She dialed the number that she had been given and slowed her breathing. She could not be discovered.   
  
"Yes?" a harsh voice asked.  
  
"Sir, I have him tagged," Wendy reported mechanically. She could basically hear Giovanni smiling.   
  
"Good. Keep a close watch on him. I have his father. Now we need him. Have you battled the Pikachu?"  
  
"Yes sir, just like you asked me to. Incredible power. Defeated Geodude, the most powerful of my pokémon with an attack he called Electric Storm."  
  
"Electric Storm? I knew his Pikachu was strong but....so you have his signal?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good. Keep a close watch on him."  
  
"Yes sir. Wendy out."  
  
****  
  
Ash walked through the fair grounds, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. He was as elated as Pikachu that they had won against Wendy, and he felt that they deserved a rest.   
  
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Lance, leader of the Elite Four has been KIDNAPPED!" a young paper boy called out frantically. It seemed that all of the noise in the fair died.   
  
"Officer Jenny commands all knowledge to be reported! Extra!" the boy continued and a mass of people ran towards him. Even Ash. The boy was trampled as anxious hands made grabs for the papers. Ash managed to dart in and out of people, got a copy and ran back out again. Pikachu looked over Ash's shoulder.  
  
**_Leader of Elite Four is Kidnapped!_**  
  
by Wilma Renport  
  
**Indigo Plateau. **Yesterday, at approximately one thirty p.m., Lance (last name unknown), famous for being the leader of the Elite Four and the Pokémon League, was discovered missing by Bruno, one of the Elite Four. Officer Jenny of Indigo Plateau questioned Lorelei, who stated that "we wondered why Lance hadn't shown up for the past two days. We started to get worried and we went to go talk to him..." Officer Jenny did reveal that there had indeed been a struggle and there was signs of a pokémon battle. However, the enemy must have had superior numbers. There was no ransom note nor terrorist demands. Officer Jenny believes that the notorious Team Rocket is responsible. "Team Rocket is the most evil group of criminals around. Only they would resort to something like this. We've had some severe trouble with them in the past, and all members arrested so far have not yielded to questioning. I think they would rather die than betray who is in charge. While usually an admirable trait, it has kept us from getting Lance back. We will continue questioning and search for the missing leader. While doing so, we ask for cooperation in all citizens, from people not interested in pokémon to the gym leaders. Please, if you have any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please report it to me, or one of my relatives that work in the nearest city to you."   
  
There was more, but Ash could not read on. He felt anger grow in him. Something tugged at a bond he had not even knew existed, or still didn't, really. A bond he could not name, recognize, or acknowledge. He only felt that he should do something. Team Rocket. He should have known.   
  
"Pikachu, we have to help."


	2. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Two

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Run of the Gauntlet-Chapter Two  
by Banjodog  
PG-13 Language  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon. I own all characters who are not in the series or in the game.  
  
Summary: Lance Ketchum, welcome to Team Rocket.   
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Lance was thrust into Giovanni's office, broken, bloodied, and very angry. The two Team Rocket members that had seized him out of his cell disappeared, leaving Lance alone with that sorry excuse for a human being. Lance wanted to lunge, tried to lunge, but his body would not respond. All he could do was give the Viridian gym leader a glare that would make an Arbok jealous through swollen, bloodshot eyes. Giovanni smiled at him, looking at him as if he were the greatest prize in the world. Lance wished desperately that he could get up. Anything to get out of this embarrassing and extremely humbling position of being on his knees.  
  
Why was this room so cold?!  
  
So much pain.  
  
"Well, Lance. Feeling better?" Giovanni asked.   
  
"Go to Hell," Lance spat back. Giovanni stood up and walked to the front of his desk, crossed his ankles and leaned/sat on his desk. Lance never took his eyes off of his former 'friend,' but noticed the Persian lying like a shadow in the corner. It was growling below Lance's hearing range, but Lance could tell that the pokemon was greatly agitated.   
  
"Now, now. That's no way to talk. Such nasty language. Trust me, life will be so much easier if you cooperate."  
  
Lance remained silent, beginning to shiver. His clothes, torn and bloodied, did little to warm him. Giovanni did nothing to aid him.   
  
"You'll never get away with this," Lance growled. Giovanni rolled his eyes.  
  
"Do we really have to go through this again? We had a deal. And I've never known you to go back on your word, Lance. Are you ready for your initiation?"  
  
"No, but get on with it," Lance replied in tired acceptance. Giovanni pushed a button on his desk.  
  
"Amanda, get in here," he said harshly. Within moments, a girl about eighteen with dark brown hair and eyes appeared, dressed in the classic black Team Rocket uniform, a red R emblazoned on the front.   
  
"You called me, sir?"   
  
"Yes, meet your new partner. Get him cleaned up and a uniform. Black," Giovanni ordered. Amanda's eyes flickered down to Lance, who was clinging to a chair like an anchor. Her eyes flashed with concern, confusion, and some fear, but she hid it as quickly as it appeared.   
  
"Um," Amanda said, approaching Lance and looking awkward. Seeing what the problem was, Lance forced himself to stand. His knees felt like they were going to buckle, but he remained standing. Amanda slid an arm under his for support and he shuffled out of Giovanni's office.   
  
"What happened to you?" Amanda asked, almost reluctantly.   
  
"Everything," Lance responded. "What's going on?"  
  
"You have to get your supplies. Nothing special. Your uniform, your pokemon."  
  
"I get my pokemon back!?" Lance asked, both surprised and immensely hopeful.  
  
"No. Sorry. Each Rocket is given a pokemon from the Boss's personal storage. You don't know what it is until you use it to battle," Amanda explained. Lance's shoulders slumped.   
  
"I want _my_ pokemon,' Lance mumbled sadly.  
  
"What kind of pokemon did you have?"  
  
"Dragonite, two Dragonair, Aerodactyl, Gyrados," Lance replied, not knowing what he had just given away. "Oh, wait!" Lance said, alarmed once it had sunk in. No one except the Elite Four and those who had battled him were supposed to know which pokemon he had.   
  
"Dragon pokemon? You must be a good trainer," Amanda commented, awed. "Where did you get an Aerodactyl?"   
  
"I found him," Lance said, his expression clearly stating he did not want to talk.  
  
"But I thought that they were extinct."  
  
"They are," Lance said with a mischievous smile. He figured as long as the cat was out of the bag, then he would have a little fun with it.   
  
"But--how--?"   
  
Lance laughed, though it came out as more of a cough.   
  
"Are they hard to train?" Amanda asked, her curiosity overwhelming her.  
  
"Are you kidding?! It took forever for me to get Magikarp to evolve into a Gyrados! For a stupid fish type that weighs only twenty-two pounds and can only learn splash, it was extremely difficult. It evolves at level twenty and you don't even need a stone for it! It was so frustrating. I had nearly lost to this wimpy little trainer from Celadon when Magikarp evolved.I finally had a dragon pokemon that weighed 518 pounds and was excellent in battle. But the stupid thing would not listen to me. Only when I evolved Dratini, who was actually loyal from the start, into Dragonair did Gyarados listen to me. Apparently I had to prove myself to it. Me! Prove that I was a good trainer! Dragonair evolved into Dragonite, who sad to say I am playing favorites with, and I got two more Dragonair. I would like to have a Dratini, but they are getting harder and harder to find. Did you know they used to be a myth? Until a colony was discovered living underwater, that is," Lance said breathlessly. He loved his pokemon no matter how frustrating they got.   
  
Amanda just stared at him.   
  
"For heaven's sake! Take a breath before you pass out on me!" she exclaimed.   
  
"Sorry. I get kind of carried away when I talk about pokemon," Lance replied sheepishly.  
  
"What is your name, anyway?"  
  
"People call me Lance," he replied. Amanda stopped. Lance grinned, wondering if she would even think....  
  
"In here. Get cleaned up...there are showers and Rob will help you with your uniform, pokemon and your....unfortunate injuries," Amanda said, sounding skeptical at her thoughts. Lance's grin subsided a little and entered the doorway.  
  
"I'll wait out here for you," Amanda said and sat down in a chair. Lance nodded and left.  
  
Lance staggered in, a little surprised at the lack of support, and not having a clue as to where to go.  
  
"You the new Rocket?" a male voice asked. Lance turned to see a young man with blond hair in a black uniform. He was carrying a med bag.   
  
"Yeah," Lance answered. Rob nodded and helped Lance up on to an examining table.   
  
"Don't know why he has to be so violent. There had to have been another way," Rob grumbled softly as he examined Lance's wounds. It hurt, but Lance kept himself from crying out. Rob pulled out some Super Potion and gave it to Lance in every way possible: sprayed it on, had him drink it, and smeared it on. It was very effective and within moments Lance was feeling better.   
  
"Thanks," Lance said, his voice growing clearer.  
  
"Doing my job," Rob replied, though Lance could see a twinkle in those blue eyes.   
  
"What size clothing do you wear?" Rob asked. Lance told him and the young medic retrieved a uniform and handed it to Lance, who gave it a severe look of hatred.   
  
"Most new Rockets do find their uniform....distasteful, which is one of the more polite descriptions that I've heard, but you don't have a choice," Rob said. Lance looked at Rob once before taking it, and he changed out of what used to be nice clothes and into a warm and actually comfortable (which Lance would rather die than admit) full body black uniform. He looked down to see the bright red capital 'R' and wanted to hurl.   
  
"And now for your pokemon," Rob said and showed Lance into a room full of pokeballs. Endless rows and rows of pokeballs. Lance felt his lower jaw drop. No wonder so few trainers got past Giovanni.   
  
"Pick one," Rob said. Lance looked at him through the corners of his dark brown eyes, his expression clearly stating that he was sure that these pokemon were not captured in the traditional manner...  
  
"It is true that some have been stolen, but that is what Team Rocket does. However, most of these were captured by the original Team Rocket members and some even by the Boss. You will need a pokemon, trust me," Rob said. Lance turned his gaze to the pokeballs and walked over to a row. His gaze came across one and he reached for it. Lance turned to Rob, who just shrugged.  
  
"Did you get your things?" Amanda asked as Lance came out. He nodded and Amanda noticed that the uniform looked horrible on him. Not fashion wise, in fact, it highlighted his features, but it contrasted deeply from his personality. It would grow on her. Lance nodded and the two walked off.  
  
Rob reported to Giovanni, like he had been ordered.   
  
"He'll be fine. Some of his scars he'll have forever, but other than that....I coated the lining of his uniform with Super Potion so he'll be in perfect health by the end of the day."  
  
"What kind of pokemon did he receive?"  
  
Rob told him and it was a long time before Giovanni stopped laughing.   
  
****  
  
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Lance asked, turning towards Amanda. She had been giving him strange glances all the way down the corridor. Her eyes darted away like Caterpeis from a flock of Pidgeys.  
  
"It's just that..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your name. Your knowledge of pokemon....oh, it's stupid. I'm going crazy. Common enough name," Amanda said, talking more to herself now.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"You're going to think this is stupid..."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Did you know that your first name is the same as the Leader of Elite Four's?"  
  
Lance laughed and Amanda looked at the floor, embarrassed.   
  
"I've been told that, yes."  
  
"For a minute, I thought....I thought you were the Elite Four Lance," Amanda said, joining the laughter.  
  
"I am," Lance said. Normally, he would not have said such a thing, but he had already given too much away and Amanda had already guessed anyway. Amanda stopped laughing. Her eyes darkened.  
  
"Don't joke."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"You can't be him."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Oh come on. Think about it. Lance. Best trainer in the world. Head of the Pokemon League. In Team Rocket, the world's largest criminal organization."  
  
"Well, I don't know about best in the world, but the head of the Pokemon League and in Team Rocket part is right."   
  
Amanda stared in disbelief.  
  
"Oh my God...but how? When? WHY?"  
  
"Maybe later," Lance said, waving his partner off. "How'd you guess?"  
  
"Well, your name, your knowledge of pokemon, the type of pokemon you have, your reluctance to reveal and/or hide which kind of pokemon you had...." Amanda listed.  
  
"I see," Lance said.  
  
"We better go," Amanda said shakily and left, Lance following.  
  
****  
  
The two new partners entered the cafeteria, Lance surveying the room with severe distaste. At least a hundred and fifty people sat, about ninety-nine percent in pairs and were sitting at circular tables, chatting and eating their dinners. Most of the people were in black, a few in white. There was even a small group who were in gray. As if sensing his confusion, Amanda spoke up.  
  
"The colors signify rank, and in the case of the gray, position. Black is lowest rank, white is highest."  
  
"What about the grays?"  
  
"Don't go near them. They are the worst of Team Rocket. They are Assassins, and very skilled ones at that. No one, as in civilians, has ever seen them, and those that have, well, they're in no condition to tell about it," Amanda said gravely. Lance gulped. He desperately wished he at least had his Dragonair with him.   
  
"Come on, let's get in line," Amanda urged softly, touching Lance's upper arm. Lance turned and followed.  
  
The line moved fairly quickly, like a well oiled machine, and soon Lance was carrying a disposable tray filled with a turkey sub, complete with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese, a pop, some chips and a rich chocolate brownie.  
  
"You're well fed," Lance commented, his mouth watering. He had been in the cell for two days and all he had ever gotten was stale bread and four day old water. Lance guessed that that had all been part of his 'conditioning.'  
  
"The Boss takes care of us. That's why most join. They're poor, fugitives, or just plain finding themselves at loose ends. It may not be the most glamorous lifestyle, but we have what we need."   
  
"Why did you join?" Lance questioned as they walked over to an empty table.  
  
"I was one of the many who found themselves at loose ends. I..."  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"I just thought of something. You joined because you want to destroy Team Rocket!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why else would you join Team Rocket?!" Amanda asked, half accusing, half panicked. She would not know what she would do if she did not have Team Rocket. By now, people had begun to stare, so Lance grabbed Amanda's arm and dragged her into a dark corner.  
  
"Look: I joined Team Rocket because I had to. Blackmail. I have no intention of overthrowing Team Rocket from the inside. It would destroy the one thing in this world I love more than life. But believe me, when I do strike, it will be a lot less subtle," Lance said, his voice rumbling dangerously. Amanda began to squirm. His face was inches from hers, his sweet breath and body heat unbearable. She struggled, but his powerful grip held her painfully fast. Amanda gulped as her breathing quickened. Lance terrified her. But then he seemed to soften and let go, silently walking back to the table. Amanda watched as Lance bit viciously into his sandwich.   
  
It must have been awful to make the generally good-natured man to get this upset. Amanda pulled up her sleeve to see a bruise forming there. The bone felt bruised and the muscle complained when she flexed it. She slid the sleeve back down and sat across from Lance.  
  
"Nice grip you've got there," Amanda said lightheartedly.  
  
"Years of dragon handling and sparring with Bruno," Lance replied, his tone getting lighter. Amanda smiled.  
  
"Who won?"  
  
"Bruno. Man, that guy's built like an Onix."  
  
"He's weakened by water?" Amanda asked. That got a laugh from Lance.   
  
"I'll have to test that theory," he said. "I may end up in the hospital for a week, but then again he'll have to catch me first. I'm faster than he is."  
  
It was Amanda's turn to laugh. She did not know what Bruno looked like, but it was funny enough to picture: Lance running at full sprint away from a muscly, soaking wet man. Amanda was about to reply when another female voice cut in.  
  
"Amanda! Hi!" Jessie yelled, waving her arm. Amanda motioned for her to come over. Lance's eyes narrowed. Jessie. And that face. Why were they so familiar?   
  
Soon, Jessie, James, and Meowth were sitting at the table. Amanda was Jessie's only real friend in Team Rocket, and they rarely got to talk to each other. Amanda noticed that Lance was tensing, but she figured it was just nerves.   
  
"So where have you guys been?" Amanda asked, trying to keep the atmosphere light.  
  
"Chasing after that brat Ash Ketchum," Jessie replied venomously. Lance straightened up as his body grew rigid, as if he were trying to hold back something. His already narrow eyes darkened significantly. Amanda decided to show off her knowledge, not realizing the danger.   
  
"You still haven't caught him? It can't be that hard. He's only twelve."  
  
Lance began to shake.  
  
"I'd like to see you try!" Jessie exclaimed. "We've been blasted into the stratosphere so often by that Pikachu that we're considering requesting an assignment transfer."  
  
"You've been defeated by a Pikachu?"  
  
"Pikachu's energy strength exceeds its evolutionary level," Meowth recited. Even in his anger, Lance jumped. A pokemon that could talk human.... Jessie and James looked over at him, noticing him for the first time.   
  
"New?" Jessie asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lance replied, not restraining his coldness.   
  
"He's my new partner. His name is..."  
  
"Sean," Lance interrupted. Amanda gave a confused look but did not question it.  
  
"Well, Sean, welcome to the Team. You ever heard of the Ketchum kid?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Trust me, you will. He's the only person Team Rocket has not successfully stolen from."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yep. Butch and Cassidy have come close, but its always backfired," James commented. Jessie tensed at Cassidy's name.   
  
"What I want to know is, is why is da Boss so interested in da kid?" Meowth said.  
  
"I have an idea," Lance muttered darkly. No one heard him except Amanda.   
  
"He wants that Pikachu, doesn't he?" James asked.  
  
"Not only that, he wants Ash," Jessie explained. Amanda nodded her agreement. Lance jerked his head up.  
  
"Why?" James asked.  
  
"Simple. Ash is a pretty good trainer, for a twerp. With the Boss completing his training, he could be the strongest Rocket ever," Jessie answered. "The Boss'll do anything to get Ash."  
  
Lance jumped out of his chair and ran out of the cafeteria. Amanda, Jessie, James, and Meowth followed.   
  
Lance sprinted down the hallways. He had made himself memorize the route, and he had a very good memory.  
  
He knocked people over, but he did not bother to apologize. He was too full of anger. He eventually slowed however, stopping in front of two big doors. Amanda, along with the Team Rocket trio, gasped.  
  
"You can't go in there!" Amanda exclaimed.  
  
"That's the Boss's office!" James added. Lance looked back at him.  
  
"I know," he said simply and pushed the doors open. Amanda darted in, along with the others.   
  
"Sir! I tried to stop him!" Amanda said as Giovanni looked up, surprised, from his work.  
  
"He's new, sir. I'm sure he doesn't know..." Jessie began amid the chorus of voices.  
  
"Silence!!" Giovanni roared, breaking the voices into silence. He stared up at Lance, who was standing still, jaw clenched and glaring. Persian lied back down, restraining itself from attacking Meowth.   
  
"Leave," Giovanni ordered the group behind Lance. They hesitated, not sure of what was going on.   
  
"NOW!!" he yelled and the four quickly scrambled out, the door falling closed behind them.   
  
"You promised. We had a deal," Lance said, his voice dangerously calm and low. Giovanni leaned back in his forest green chair and tapped his fingers slowly on the desk.  
  
"What did those three bumbling idiots tell you?" he asked.  
  
"We had a deal that if I joined, no harm would come to Ash."  
  
"That was the deal, yes."  
  
"Then why go back on it now?!"  
  
"Lance, what are you talking about?"  
  
"What's their faces....Jessie and James said that you wanted Ash to join the team! You have me! Leave him alone!" Lance yelled, slamming his fists on the desk. Giovanni stood up, rising to the challenge.   
  
"In all the years that you have known me, Lance, have I ever gone back on my word?" he asked.   
  
"You have not given me reason to trust you," Lance countered. He felt his power return. He was the Elite Four leader, and this was just another Gym Leader. He had the authority. The Persian was growling deeply, but Lance showed no fear of it. It was jut a pokemon, after all.   
  
"Listen, Lance. I did want Ash. Did, past tense. Now that I have you, I don't anymore. A deal is a deal."  
  
"Yeah, well make sure it stays that way," Lance snarled and turned to leave.  
  
"Don't you EVER turn your back on me again, Lance. And you will NEVER speak to me that way again. You are no longer in charge. I am. You follow my orders. I am not your toy anymore that you can toss around for your amusement. Your leeway right now is coming from who you are and our past association. But know this: you will never get this freedom again and I'll make you regret it. Any other Rocket talked to me like that and they'd be dead before they could say 'unfair.' Remember what is on the line here. Your son. Now would you risk that for a few insults?" Giovanni replied. Lance gave no reply. Giovanni knew the answer.   
  
"I will not be so lenient next time. But then, I trust that there will not be a next time, now will there?"   
  
"No, Giovanni," Lance said. Giovanni smiled.  
  
"And I think it better that you not tell anyone who you are...yet anyway. As far as my team is concerned, Team Rocket is in no way affiliated with the League."  
  
"Yeah, it's too bad that they don't know who the Viridian Gym leader is," Lance said and walked out the door. Giovanni let it go, mainly for the reason that he could find no reply. After a moment, he sat back down and picked up his cell phone. He punched in the numbers and petted his Persian while waiting for an answer. He did not have to wait long.   
  
"Sir?" Wendy's voice came.   
  
"Wendy, disregard my last orders. Do not capture the Ketchum kid."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Are you questioning me, Wendy?"  
  
"No sir! Just merely curious as to why."  
  
"Now is not the time to strike," Giovanni replied and turned the phone off. In a sudden burst of anger, he threw it into the nearby fireplace where it exploded and melted in the intense flames. 


	3. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Three

  
Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter 3  
PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns pokemon and all its characters. I own character neither in the show or in the game.  
  
Summary: Ash heads to Indigo Plateau to look for clues on Lance's disappearance, and Lance is sent out on his first mission.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Ash stood in front of the entrance to the Indigo Plateau, wondering how the heck he was going to start. The Plateau was huge, and Ash doubted that Officer Jenny would let him near the crime scene. The immensity of the task hit him at full force, making him to come to the conclusion: it was impossible. He could do nothing...but that bond in the back of his mind tugged at his heart, and the result being that Ash knowing only that he could not give up. Taking a deep breath, the young trainer braced himself for the obstacles that he would have to face.  
  
****  
  
Everything was revolving around Lance. The TV news reports, the headlines of the papers, the gossip on the lips of every person on the street. Ash was amazed by it all. It was just too bad that there were not any photos of the most famous person in the world. Officer Jenny (one of them) was trying to get information out of a girl who had battled the dragon master (she lost) for the League Championship, but she was as tight-lipped about it as a Cloyster using Withdraw. Ash was still clueless as to where to start searching. The city was crawling with Officer Jennys, accompanied by her assistants and teams of Growlithe.  
  
"You there! You!" the Celadon City Jenny cried out, running towards Ash, who stopped dead in his tracks, knowing from experience that it was not wise to get on Jenny's bad side.   
  
"Yes?" Ash asked.  
  
"Pika?" Pikachu added in unison with his trainer. Celadon Jenny came up to them and Ash could see that her eyes were red with frustration, her demeanor slumped along with her shoulders in defeat and fatigue. It was also obvious that her nerves were being run raw, making her very edgy and crabby.  
  
"I have not seen you around here, young man. What are you doing here?" she snapped, already pulling out her trusty handcuffs. Ash pulled out Dexter, ready to identify and prove himself.   
  
"I just came to see if I could help in the search for Lance," Ash said. Jenny did not look like she believed him.   
  
"Yeah, right. Listen, you have information about the disappearance and you will not reveal it to me," Jenny accused.  
  
"No, I--"  
  
"Don't lie to me! In fact, I bet you were one of the ones who kidnapped him!" Jenny yelled, her voice harsh and ragged.   
  
"Sister, sister! Calm down. I know this boy, and he is fine. Trust me," the Viridian Jenny said in a soothing tone, appearing next to her flustered sister. The Celadon Jenny gave Ash one last look before walking off.  
  
"You'll have to forgive my youngest sister. She's been working nonstop under very stressful conditions," Jenny said, one hand going to her chin and concern flashing in her brown eyes. To Ash and Pikachu, she looked just as tired as her sister. Her turquoise hair, usually thick and bouncy was hanging lifelessly, straggly, and tangles were growing. She had had no time to take care of her personal appearance. Her crisp demeanor and appearance was dulled, the brightness gone. Ash felt sorry for her.   
  
"I understand," Ash said, his voice full of sympathy. Jenny smiled but closed her eyes, giving the impression that she did not have the strength to smile and keep her eyes open at the same time. She took off her hat and wiped her sweating forehead with the back of her hand. Her usually white glove was gray and grimy. Ash wondered how long it had been since she had gotten any rest.  
  
"However, my sister does have a point. Everyone must be questioned. Do you have any knowledge? Even if you think that it is the most insignificant thing in the world, please tell me anyway," Jenny recited. She wondered how many times she had said that. Ash could tell that she was running on empty, but her determination to get the job done no matter what bought her more energy, even if it did not exist. Ash admired her for that.  
  
As soon as Jenny said 'that is is the most insignificant thing in the world...' Ash once again felt that tug, only to forget it moments later, leaving just the feeling of protectiveness and a deep, faint, nameless emotion that traveled both ways across the bond that would later be defined as love.   
  
"No. I know nothing," Ash said after a pause. Jenny sighed.  
  
"No one ever does."  
  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
"I'm afraid not...wait. Maybe you can. You know Team Rocket. You've battled their agents before..." Jenny said, a faint glimmer of hope seeping through her fatigue. Ash shook his head.  
  
"I've only battled Jessie and James. A few times with Butch and Cassidy, but none of them are exactly world class crooks," Ash said."Jessie and James couldn't steal a rock from an abandoned rock quarry, even if they tried."   
  
"But they can still give us information. How do you usually find them?" Jenny said, her voice growing stronger by the second.  
  
"They usually find me," Ash replied.   
  
"Pika," Pikachu confirmed. Ash jumped. Pikachu had been so quiet he had almost forgotten that he was there.   
  
"Come with me, Ash. I don't want to talk here. There could be spies," Jenny said, her old strong self returning.   
  
Jenny dragged Ash to the nearest pokemon center, where she and some of the other Jennys were staying. She brought Ash into a large room and sat him down at a table. Pikachu crackled a bit, ready to defend his friend if she got too harsh with him.   
  
"Okay, Ash it's very important. Tell me what you know about Team Rocket," Jenny said softly. Ash, knowing that he should be uncomfortable, was actually fine and wanted to help.  
  
"Okay, um.....I know that Jessie and James always travel with their Meowth, who can talk like us," Ash began. Jenny began writing all of his words down.   
  
"Go on," Jenny encouraged.  
  
"Um, well, Jessie and James are always after Pikachu, but we always defeat them anyways, don't we buddy?"  
  
"Pika pika!"  
  
"What about Butch and Cassidy?"   
  
"They have a Raticate, but it stays in its pokeball."  
  
"Can it talk, like Meowth?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Have they ever said who's in charge of them?"  
  
"They only ever call him 'the Boss.' Nothing else."  
  
"Have you ever seen him?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ever heard him?"  
  
"No."   
  
"Where have you seen them the most?"  
  
"They follow me everywhere. Even when they're lost they always manage to find me. I don't know why they want Pikachu so badly.....no offense! Pikachu!" Ash added quickly at the look that his friend gave him.   
  
"Great...." Jenny sighed, leaning back in her chair. She looked like she was going to collapse.   
  
"I did see them in the Viridian Gym though," Ash said, remembering the day he got his Earth Badge.  
  
"The Viridian Gym? That's Giovanni's gym...why would they be there?" Jenny asked herself, her mind frantically trying to unravel the puzzle that Ash had set before her.   
  
"Unless they were trying to steal the pokemon, but....they could never get past Giovanni. It just doesn't add up....Giovanni is a gym leader. He would never....it doesn't make sense," Jenny mumbled to herself. Ash also became confused. Why were they in the gym? Why did he have to battle them so that he could get the Earth Badge?   
  
"Anything else, Ash?"  
  
"No," Ash said. He felt like he had said that a lot.   
  
"Okay....thanks Ash," Jenny said with a weak smile. She appeared grateful, but Ash had the ominous feeling that he had just made it more complicated.   
  
Ash walked out of there feeling guilty a renewed sense of the task.It was impossible. If all these Jennys could not do anything...then what could he do....?  
_  
'Stop it! Stop leading me in circles!'_ Ash thought violently, mentally attacking that nagging, fierce doubt in the back of his mind. He shoved it into the far reaches of his consciousness, knowing that he would never get rid of it completely and walked on, have no clue as to where to go.  
  
Ash entered the local Pokemon Center, looking for a telephone. He saw a very upset Nurse Joy, who was running around, consoling people who were looking for some sort of shelter and safe haven, and a friend to talk to.   
  
_This Lance thing has hit people harder than I thought..._Ash said mentally and walked over to a phone. On the way, he heard snippets of conversation.  
  
"...I'm afraid to let my children out at night now...."  
  
"If Lance isn't safe, then no one is...."  
  
"Who would do such a horrible thing....?"  
  
Ash sat down at the vid phone, letting Pikachu comfort a small red headed boy who looked very helpless and scared.   
  
_Ringringring! Phone call! Phone call! Ringringring!_ the mechanical voice called out excitedly. A ragged looking Professor Oak got up from the table where he was having some coffee with Delilah Ketchum. Both looked like they had been crying, but Delilah looked worse off than Oak.   
  
The professor sat down and turned on the vidphone. He jumped, his hope flaring instantly. Could it really be... But it only lasted a millisecond, for he immediately saw who it really was.   
  
_Why does he have to look like his father so much!?_ Oak thought bitterly. That anger too lasted shortly, for he really did like Ash, the boy feeling more like a grandson to him than Gary.   
  
"Professor, is something wrong?" Ash asked, seeing the flash of emotions cross his mentor's face. Oak smiled weakly, reassuringly.   
  
"No, Ash. I'm fine. Where are you calling from?"  
  
"Indigo Plateau," Ash immediately answered. Oak's eyes widened and Delilah came over as quickly as her feet could carry her. At first, she did not really want to see Ash, no matter how much she loved him, because he would remind her too much of him....of course, he always reminded her of Lance, but now was not the best time....  
  
"What are you doing at Indigo Plateau?" Delilah and Oak asked at the same time.  
  
"Mom?"   
  
"Yes, honey?"   
  
"What are you doing at the Professor's?"  
  
"Just having a cup of coffee," Delilah answered brightly. She could not let her son see how upset she was. It would cause too many awkward questions.   
  
"Oh. Well, to answer your question...ah! Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu forced his way up onto Ash's lap so he could see too. Ash grinned and scratched Pikachu's ears.   
  
"Chu!"  
  
"Pikachu says hi," Ash said, laughing. Delilah's heart ached. They even had the same laugh....  
  
Brock and Misty chose that moment to enter.   
  
"Hi Professor! We fed the Tauros like you asked us to!" Brock said.  
  
"Who's calling, Professor?" Misty asked, curiosity piqued. The two gym leaders walked over and peered into the screen. Delilah willingly moved away.   
  
"Hi Ash!" Misty and Brock said at the same time.  
  
"Prriiiii!" Togepi trilled.  
  
"Pipipi!" Pikachu greeted the tiny egg pokemon.   
  
"Hi, Pikachu," Misty said.   
  
"Where are ya, Ash?" Brock asked.  
  
"Indigo Plateau," Ash repeated.   
  
"What are you doing there?"   
  
"I heard about the disappearance of Lance, and I wanted to see if there was anything that I could do to help," Ash answered.  
  
"Why?" Oak and Delilah demanded, a little more harshly than they intended. He couldn't possibly know... Ash looked surprised and both adults immediately regretted it.  
  
"Well....I just....it seemed right....that's all. I wasn't supposed to?" Ash asked.  
  
"No, honey, I'm sorry. That's very noble of you...." Delilah said softly. Ash smiled, relieved at his mother's approval.   
  
"Be careful son, and don't forget to change your you know what," Delilah added, trying to sound as bright and as normal as possible. His father had made it very clear that if Ash ever found out, then he would be the one to tell him.  
  
"I won't mom," Ash sighed, exasperated. Did his mother always have to humiliate him like this?   
  
"Anything else, Ash?" Misty asked. She knew that long distance phone calls costed a lot, and while Professor Oak was not short on cash, she still hated to waste money.   
  
"Not really. I just wanted to say hi," Ash said and gave them his victory pose. "And don't worry, mom! I'll be home soon!" he added and hung up.  
  
_'I wish his father could say the same,'_ Delilah thought miserably.  
  
****  
  
Amanda was amazed that Lance was still in one piece. No one..._no one_....confronted Giovanni like that and got through it without at least some serious injuries. For the next day she kept well enough away from him, for he looked like a very angry Gyarados that would explode at whoever approached him. Even the other Rocket members would give him a wide berth.   
  
She was about to talk to Lance, to get him to tell her what had happened, but the Boss's voice interrupted that.  
  
"Amanda, you and Lance please come to my office," the Boss said over the intercom that was in Amanda's room.   
  
"Yes sir," she said and went to fetch Lance.  
  
The partners entered timidly, or at least Amanda did. She noticed that Lance looked mad enough to chew a Graveler, but he behaved himself.   
  
"Well, Lance, it's time that you went out on your first mission. Are you ready?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Then I'll go," Lance replied. Amanda remained quiet. She did not understand why Giovanni was a little kinder with Lance. Not much, like microscopic improvement, but it was there. As if they knew each other before this......  
  
"Amanda."  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"You know what to do. Show Lance the ropes," Giovanni commanded.  
  
"Yes sir," Amanda replied, saluting. She grabbed Lance's arms and pulled him out of there.   
  
****  
  
"I don't like doing this," Lance said forcefully, crossing his arms.   
  
"I know you don't Lance, but we don't have a choice. We'll make it quick, and you get to find out what pokemon you have," Amanda replied.  
  
"So we're just going to steal from some unsuspecting trainer who's probably a novice and won't be able to defend their pokemon?" Lance accused.   
  
"You make it sound so....wait!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You can't be seen!"  
  
"I can't?"  
  
"Of course not you dummy! You're Lance! World's most famous trainer! Don't you think that...."  
  
"I'm the world's most famous trainer that's never been seen," Lance corrected. That made Amanda shut up. "The only people that have ever seen me are either in Indigo Plateau in the Elite Four mansion or taking a very long break from training. If we do what Team Rocket always does, in taking pokemon from novices to semi-advanced, then no one will recognize me. Other than my friends, only...um.........six people have seen me," Lance said, including Ash, Professor Oak, and Delilah in that number.  
  
"Only six?"  
  
"Yep. Even if they get past Lorelei and Bruno, Agatha stops them."  
  
"What kind of pokemon did they have?"  
  
"Um....last I heard, one had a Mr. Mime, one had a Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Lapras, no wait....he got rid of the Lapras, um, a Pidgeot, Tauros, a Primeape, a Butterfree, he set those last three free too, except for Primeape who....oh, gee, I can't remember....oh yes, he was training to be a P1 Champion, a Kingler, and a Pikachu. The other guy has....just about every pokemon in existence, and one had a Rapidash, Electrode, a Kadabra; the other had a Dewgong, a Dratini, a Doduo, and a Machamp. The last one had a Venusaur, a Magmar, a Slowpoke, a Parasect, and a Jigglypuff."  
  
"You remembered all that?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"How many of them beat you?"  
  
"None," Lance said. It wasn't entirely false, as he hadn't battled all of them...., so he couldn't have lost any of the the battles....  
  
"How do you remember all that?"  
  
"I don't know. Just do, I guess. I also know, that Giovanni's favorite pokemon to battle with are Rhyhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Rhydon."  
  
"How did you know that? Nobody knows that," Amanda asked.   
  
"Lucky guess," Lance answered, shrugging.  
  
"No it's not," Amanda said, but dropped it. They walked a little further down the dirt road before Amanda shoved Lance into the forest that bordered the road.  
  
"Amanda! What are you doing?" Lance exclaimed.  
  
"Shut up!" Amanda replied, covering his mouth. Lance soon saw what was happening.   
  
A young female trainer was walking down the road, her smile indicating the kind of day she was having. Lance really did not want to steal from her. It was just plain wrong.   
  
"Get ready," Amanda whispered.  
  
"I can't do this, Amanda," Lance whispered back.  
  
"You have to!"  
  
"Let's not and say we did."  
  
"He would find out! He wants the pokemon. Now get ready to say the motto."  
  
"No."  
  
"Stop being so difficult! It's not as if you don't know it! I already taught it to you."  
  
"It's stupid."  
  
"No it isn't! Now get ready. No ifs ands or buts!" Amanda said harshly and jumped out into the middle of the road.   
  
"Prepare for trouble!" she said loudly. The young trainer stopped, surprised. There was no reply to Amanda's statement.  
  
"L--Sean! It's your line!" Amanda hissed, her face turning red.   
  
Lance remained in the vegetation, watching the conflict in his mind. He really did not want to steal from this trainer, yet if he didn't, Ash would get hurt...........  
  
"And make it double," Lance said gloomily, shuffling out to the middle of the road.  
  
"To protect the world from devastation!"  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation."  
  
"Amanda!"  
  
"Sean."  
  
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight," Lance finished, his head down.   
  
"Who are you guys!?" the girl asked, on her guard.   
  
"We're Team Rocket. Hand over your pokemon!"   
  
"Never!"  
  
_'That's right. Fight. Run. Anything. Just don't give up....'_ Lance thought.   
  
"You leave us with no choice."  
  
_'Us?'_  
  
"Amanda calls out...Jolteon!" Amanda cried out, throwing her pokeball.  
  
"You have a Jolteon?" Lance said in awe. He preferred Flareons, but Jolteons were quite strong.  
  
"Sean! Hurry up and call out your pokemon!" Amanda said as the young trainer called out her Squirtle.  
  
"Fine. I choose you! Uh.......pokemon!" Lance said, having no idea what he had. What appeared in the flash of red light stunned him to his very core. A green bug, no more 2' 4" in height sat there, its sad looking eyes half closed.  
  
"No...." Amanda groaned.  
  
"He gave me a Metapod?" Lance said, staring at his new pokemon.  
  
"I guess its up to me! Jolteon! Quick attack!" Amanda shouted.  
  
"Jolt!"  
  
"Squirtle! Withdraw!" the young trainer called out, but her Squirtle was not fast enough. It got hit at full force by the Jolteon.   
  
"He gave me a Metapod?"  
  
"Jolteon! Thunder!"  
  
"Jolt jolt!"   
  
"Oh no! Squirtle!" the girl cried out as her Squirtle fainted.  
  
"Ha! Don't you know that electric types are strong against water types?"   
  
"Maybe, but I do have Diglett! Slash!"  
  
"Sean! Help me out here!"  
  
"But he gave me a Metapod!"  
  
"Jolteon! Combine Agility with Pin Missile!"  
  
Even in his shock, Lance could see that Amanda was actually a good trainer and had quite the potential. If only she wasn't in Team Rocket....  
  
"Do something! Sean!"  
  
"Um....Harden," Lance said, depressed that Harden was the only attack that Metapod knew. Metapod did so, and its defense rose.   
  
"This is exciting," Lance added sarcastically as all the focus was between Jolteon and Diglett. Neither seemed to be losing, but neither seemed to be winning either.   
  
Diglett ended up the loser. It just was not strong enough.   
  
"I'm counting on you.... Venonat!"   
  
"Jolteon! Double Kick!"  
  
Venonat did not even get a chance to retaliate.   
  
"You can't have my pokemon!"   
  
"Try and stop me," Amanda said and was prepared to make her final move when Lance jumped out in front of her. Metapod tried to follow, but it found itself once again incapable of motion.   
  
"Sean!? What the heck are you doing?"  
  
"Hurry up and go. Don't worry. She won't come after your pokemon anymore," Lance said, turning towards the trainer. Confused, but immensely relieved, she ran away, her pokeballs safe in her arms.   
  
"NO! Wait!" Amanda shouted and started after her, but Lance was ready for that. He grabbed her arms and wrestled her to the ground. Within seconds, he had her pinned. Jolteon just watched. It instinctively wanted to protect its master, but it had learned the hard way from Giovanni not to attack fellow Rockets.   
  
"Stop it! Get off of me!" Amanda shouted into the dirt as Lance's knee pressed into her back, making her as unable to move as his Metapod. He had her wrists and twisted them painfully, while still restraining from going all the way and breaking them. He did not even sprain them. It was just enough so that she could not struggle.   
  
Amanda gasped for air, feeling like her ribs were breaking. He was suffocating her!  
  
"You're suffocating me!" Amanda gasped out.  
  
"No I'm not. Now I'll let you up when you promise to stay calm and listen to what I have to say," Lance replied, tightening his grip, which was a painful reminder that he held all the power.   
  
"Do you realize what you are doing?!"  
  
"I know what I'm doing. Now, will you act like a civilized person?"  
  
Amanda hated defeat. Always hated it. She hated being the underdog. The one that had to submit. But she had no choice.   
  
"I promise," Amanda growled, voice dripping with as much venom as a Nidoran. Lance hesitated before he took her word and got up. Amanda was still for a moment before she too sat up. Lance stood, maintaining that aura of authority and power. He was the perfect picture of intimidation.   
  
"I will not steal from a trainer. And neither will you," Lance ordered.  
  
"I don't take orders from you, _Lance_. I take orders from the Boss. And whether you like it or not, you do to. We have to steal pokemon."   
  
"I will not do it!"  
  
"You have a better idea?"  
  
"Actually, I do. You want to hear it?"  
  
"I will not go against the Boss, Lance. I feel just as strongly about that as you do against stealing."  
  
"Fine, then. I'll do it by myself, and I'll still get pokemon. Metapod! Return!" Lance said and walked off in the other direction. "Stay and wait for the next victim. I'm sure you're conscience will adore you."  
  
Amanda watched Lance's retreating back for a few minutes, her eyes narrowed. Jolteon rubbed against her leg. She patted its head as her two halves battled........  
  
"Hey! Wait! I'm coming!" Amanda finally shouted and ran after Lance, her Jolteon bouncing alongside her.   
  
Lance didn't say anything as she caught up with him. Suspecting what he was thinking, Amanda spoke up.  
  
"I'm not doing this for your reasons, you know. It's impossible to steal from a trainer without two people working together. It'd be futile," she explained.   
  
Lance remained quiet.   
  
"So, if that's what you were thinking...then you're wrong."  
  
"That wasn't what I was thinking," Lance said softly, keeping his eyes forward.  
  
"Then what were you thinking?" Amanda more demanded than asked. "As if I care."  
  
"I was thinking about why I joined Team Rocket. What's keeping me here. But you're right. You wouldn't care," Lance answered, still not looking at her. Amanda's eyes fell forward and down. As angry as she was, her curiosity got the better of her.  
  
"Why did you join? You never did tell me."  
  
"Ash Ketchum."  
  
"The Ketchum kid? I thought you said that you never heard of him."  
  
"I lied."  
  
"Well, why would he make you stay? What do you care about him? What's one more trainer down the drain? One less that you have to worry about taking your place..." Amanda said harshly. Lance turned on her.  
  
"_Because he is MY SON!!_" Lance yelled, tears threatning to spill over. He was rapidly losing control. He felt so helpless. Amanda took a few steps backwards, the facts of what he just told her hitting her like a bag of bricks.  
  
"Your son..." Amanda breathed. Lance turned away from her and knelt in the vegatation. He felt like he was going to throw up. And he did.   
  
Amanda watched the sight before her. Lance convulsing, the disgusted look on his face as he tasted the bitter stomach acid. This really was bad for him. Humiliating...humbling....horrible. And now she felt like mud.   
  
Metapod popped out of its pokeball and stared up at its new trainer. Feeling sorry for him, the Metapod actually forced itself to move and rubbed itself comfortingly against Lance's leg and hip.   
  
"Lance, I.....I didn't know....." Amanda whispered, not approaching her partner. Lance's stomach paused for a second. Long enough for him regain his equilibrium and accept the nausea.   
  
"It's all right..." he whispered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.  
  
"No. No, it isn't. Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Would you trust a Team Rocket member?"  
  
"I suppose not...."  
  
Lance's stomach started again, but it was a tad more gentler. Amanda walked over and rubbed his back, trying to calm him. Lance stopped again, and Amanda knew that it was over. He leaned up against the tree, cradling his Metapod. Jolteon even layed its head in his lap, understanding the problem.   
  
"I understand, Lance. I'll help you for now, but we can't do this all the time."  
  
"Okay, but don't you want to know my plan?"  
  
"Do I want to?"  
  
Lance grinned at her.   
  
****  
  
"I'm right in saying that most trainers start off with Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur, aren't I?" Lance said as they approached the river.  
  
"Yeah...." Amanda answered, not seeing where this was going.   
  
"Good," Lance said and took off the top of his Team Rocket uniform.   
  
_'Wow...' _Amanda thought. _'No! Bad girl! He's married!! He has a son!' _she reminded herself.  
  
Lance dived into the river, leaving a very confused Amanda on the bank.   
  
Lance, once he had gained his bearings, quickly headed down towards the bottom of the river. It was very murky, the current carrying the sand and silt downstream. The current was on the strong side, but he could handle it.   
  
He grabbed a hold of a dead tree root and waited. He saw several Magikarp, but that was not what he wanted. When he began to run out of breath, he let go of the root and surfaced.  
  
"Lance, what in the world are you doing?" Amanda asked, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"Just a minute..." Lance said and with another deep breath, dived again.   
  
He went back to the root and waited...  
  
_'Ah ha!'_ Lance mentally cheered and let go of the root to swim after his target.   
  
The Squirtle, not expecting any sort of attack in a river full of Magikarp, certainly did not expect a human to come up from behind and grab it.   
  
Lance grabbed a hold of its shell, his grasp firm and tight. The Squirtle was immensely surprised, but once that had worn off, it began to struggle. Lance recieved a couple of skull bashes in the gut, but he held on. His plan was to hold on until the Squirtle was too tired to struggle anymore and then capture it. The logic was flawless. Nearly all trainers start off with either a Charmander, a Bulbasaur, or a Squirtle (Ash being the exception), and so Giovanni would not question that. The trainer would have not gotten far enough to evolve it into a Wartortle, so that too would go unquestioned. The Squirtle he caught would be tired, indicating a battle. Well, it sort of was a battle...and plus, it would not have belonged to anyone else, so it was not stealing. To the Squirtle, it would be like a trade, while to Giovanni, it would be a stolen pokemon. It worked.   
  
The Squirtle swam down to the bottom, with Lance beneath it, pressing the human down into the sand. A bubble of air was forced out of Lance's lungs, but he held on.   
  
_'I wonder if this is how the very first trainer got his very first pokemon,'_ Lance thought as the Squirtle tried to bash him against a rock. Lance kicked off the bottom and the two surfaced, allowing him to catch a breath of air. It was shortlived, and Lance was brought down under water again. The Squirtle also had a plan: Lance would have to come up for air sometime, so if it stayed underwater....he would have to eventually let go.  
  
Lance had not intention of letting go.   
  
'If I can get it up on land....' Lance thought and kicked for the surface again. The silt was stinging his eyes, but he was too involved in the match to care.   
  
With a powerful surge in his muscles, courtesy his adrenaline rush, he dragged the Squirtle into shallow water and pulled it ashore, but it was no easy task. The Squirtle was fighting the entire time, and the water weighted his clothes and pulled him down. The Squirtle was noticably weakening, and so Lance pulled out his pokeball. The red light surrounded the pokemon and the Squirtle disappeared. Lance felt the pokeball squirm in his hands, it being so violent a shake that he almost dropped it...the shaking stopped and Lance sighed in relief. He caught Squirtle.  
  
"Lance! Lance!" Amanda's voice cried out. Lance fell to the ground next to the pokeball, exhausted. He had gotten some water in his lungs (which he violently coughed out) and stomach, which wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. He turned to see Amanda, who was on the other side of the bank, running from where Lance had dived in. The current had carried them far...he wished that he could have used Jolteon, but it had become sort of an unspoken taboo to use other people's pokemon. No harm came to it, but humans highly prized their companions, and well....  
  
"Lance! Are you crazy!? You could have been killed!" Amanda said, kneeling down next to him. She had crossed the bridge.  
  
"Really," Lance said.  
  
"Really! You could have been dragged down by an undertow and drowned!"  
  
"Worried about me?" Lance asked, grinning.  
  
"Dream on," Amanda replied, but Lance saw that smile she tried to hide.   
  
"I caught Squirtle though," he said, holding up the pokeball.  
  
"What? Why would you catch a wi--oh. I get it," Amanda said, realizing his plan.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And I think you're an idiot. But it's worth a try," Amanda answered and helped her partner up. 


	4. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Four and Fi...

Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Four through Five  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns pokemon. I own the characters I made up.  
  
Summary: Chapter Four is mostly a flashback chapter. Some background stuff. In chapter five, the actual, main plot comes into play and Mewtwo makes a long awaited appearance. Yea! And chapter six will be MUCH better, so stick with me.....  
  
Author's Note: ~~~~ denotes a flashback. In chapter five, I say that Lance knows all the gym leaders, but not Misty and Brock. The reason is is that he considers them not old enough. He does know Misty's oldest sister, though, and Flint. Why give away who he is more than he should?  
  
  
  
~~~~  
  
Lance stood in open mouthed horror as Ash ran out in front of the machine that Team Rocket had created, the flame of Moltres burning brightly...dangerously. Lance instinctively reached for his pokeball containing Dragonite and started towards the door. Lorelei was too fast for him though, and grabbed his arm.  
  
"Lance! Wait! You can't go out there!"  
  
Lance turned on her in a fury, disgusted that she could even think of that now.  
  
"He's my son, Lorelei! They're going to kill him!"   
  
"You can't go out there! They won't go that far!" Lorelei responded as Bruno and Agatha rose and reached for their pokemon, prepared if Lance's infamous temper got too hot. Lance opened his mouth to say something particularly nasty when he heard Ash's voice scream out a challenge.  
  
"Take your best shot, Team Rocket!"   
  
Lance turned to the glass window, horror on his face. Ash was standing defiantly, arms spread wide and his two most faithful pokemon at his side. The machine turned the flame to face Ash, and Lance pressed up against the window, fear flooding through him. The flame shot out and Lance had been sure that his world had just ended.   
  
~~~~  
  
"I can't tell you how relieved I was when Moltres refused to harm him," Lance said, staring into the fire that he had made a few hours earlier. Amanda watched him with intense curiosity and fascination. It was like seeing him in a whole new light. So the great and powerful Pokemon Master did have a weakness, and Giovanni was milking it for all it was worth. Suddenly Lance did not seem all powerful....he was....a person. Amanda decided to keep him talking. It was the only way to relieve the pain that he was feeling eating away at his insides like acid.  
  
"Ash sounds like the adventurous type. He must have a lot of his father in him," Amanda said warmly. Lance smiled, still not taking his gaze away from the fire.  
  
"I hope not. The world does not need another me running around, trust me. Of course, that wasn't the only time Ash behaved like that and scared me out of my skin," Lance said, his eyes starting to glaze over, the memory playing over in his head.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"It was when I was still together with Delilah, and we were a family....he was four, and I had taken him to his first live pokemon battle, so he could experience it first hand, rather than just watch it on TV......"  
  
~~~~  
  
Ash bubbled with excitement, bouncing up and down in his little, still awkward, gait. He held tightly onto his father's hand, gripping it tighter by the moment.  
  
"So, what is going on, Lance? I'm afraid I don't know that much about pokemon," Delilah said, looking around.   
  
"This is a battle between Michael Trenta and Lalanie Williams. They are currently the two greatest masters, and are battling for the world's greatest title," Lance answered, looking for the special seats he had reserved. A rising star, he was getting more and more privileges.   
  
"A title soon to be yours?" Delilah asked.  
  
"You bet," Lance answered. "Unless Ash here is going to be me to it," he added. Ash looked up at the mention of his name.  
  
"I'm gonna be the bestest in the world!" he stated, balling his free fist up. Lance laughed.   
  
"I wouldn't be surprised," Lance said, kneeling down and putting his hands on Ash's arms.   
  
"Daddy, are you going to battle me someday?"  
  
"I don't doubt it," Lance answered, knowing that he wasn't talking about an everyday battle that involved teaching and sharpening the skills, but rather an intense, battle of the best battle.   
  
"Daddy, I found a favorite pokemon," Ash randomly said, the thought just popping into his young brain.   
  
"Really! What's that?"  
  
"I like Pikachus," Ash replied, remembering the wild one he had seen the other day. He had not told anyone, thinking it to be a secret, special meeting.  
  
"They are one of the world's cutest pokemon," Lance admitted.  
  
"Let's go find the seats," Delilah spoke up, seeing that Lance and Ash were blocking the steps for other people.  
  
"Alright. Up you go, champ," Lance said and hoisted Ash up onto his shoulders. Ash laughed brightly at the prospect of being up so high. Lance started towards their seats, but a voice stopped him.  
  
"Lance! Delilah! Wait!"  
  
Lance and Delilah turned as Ash scrambled off of his father. He jumped onto the ground and ran towards the man.  
  
"'Fessor!" he cried out. Professor Oak knelt down and and opened his arms, where Ash was greeted with a hug.   
  
"Hi, Ash!" Oak said brightly.  
  
"I thought you said that you couldn't make it today," Lance said, putting one of his hands on his hip.  
  
"Well, there was a change of plans," Oak answered, standing up with Ash in his arms. "Hello, Delilah. How are you?"  
  
"I'm just great, Professor!"  
  
"Call me Samuel."  
  
"Want to sit with us?" Lance offered.  
  
"I'd love to. Gary just told me off for wanting to sit with him and his family. High spirits," Oak said, shrugging. Ash's face darkened.  
  
"Gary's mean to me," he stated softly.  
  
"I know what you mean by those high spirits. Ash here is starting to get them," Lance replied.   
  
"Is that so," Oak said and turned his gaze to the little boy he was holding. "You being trouble for your parents?"  
  
"Sometimes," Ash answered, the smile returning on his face. The three adults laughed as Ash reached out for his dad, who took him.   
  
"Come on, it's about to start," Lance said and they went to go sit down.   
  
~~~~  
  
"We were having the time of our lives....until Team Rocket decided to make an appearance...." Lance said, his pokeball rolling around in his hand.  
  
"Team Rocket?" Amanda asked. Lance nodded.  
  
"Team Rocket then was bolder. Deadlier. Not like Jessie and James. Not like them at all...."  
  
~~~~  
  
Lance stood up and cheered as Michael's Venusaur fell. Ash did the same, mostly because he was copying his father.  
  
"Did you see that? Did you see that attack power?!" Lance nearly yelled, turning to Delilah and Professor Oak. "What a fireblast!"  
  
"I don't think he's having a good time," Delilah said, leaning to whisper to Oak, who laughed.  
  
"Never seen him unhappier," Oak replied.   
  
Ash grinned at the atmosphere and let his eyes wander. He stopped though, and his brown eyes darkened and narrowed when he saw a group of shadowmen in black trench coats come together and talk quietly. They were on the far side of the stadium, and as far as the four year old could tell, no one could see them. There was something wrong about them. Something....evil. Like a black widow spider waiting in the dead of night for its victim. And when the started pointing down at the famous pokemon, Ash knew that their intentions were not good. And deep within his soul, where beat a heart years more mature than the body it inhabited, instinct and morals told Ash that he needed to do something. Gazing back at his family and Oak to make sure that they were not looking, he quickly scrambled away into the crowds.  
  
****  
  
This was it. Down to the last pokemon. Each Master had only one left. Michael, a Gengar; and Lalanie, a Haunter, Ghost against ghost. It was going to be one heck of a showdown. Lance, as well as Delilah and Oak, sat tensely in their seats, waiting to see what happened.   
  
Lalanie opened her mouth to shout a command when a smoke bomb went off. The crowd and the announcer gasped, checking to see if anyone was hurt. Everyone was on their feet within an instant, wanting to see what was going on.   
  
"To infect the world with devastation!" a harsh female voice called out.   
  
"To blight all peoples within our nation!" came the response. The smoke cleared to reveal a brown haired twenty year old girl and a blond twenty year old boy. Both in blood-colored uniforms with a black 'R' emblazoned on the front.   
  
~~~~  
  
"The Crimson Units?! The Boss terminated that squad seven years ago!" Amanda cut in. Lance looked at her. "He never told any of us why! They were the best of the best. Even the Grays kept their distance!"  
  
"Maybe it was because they made a huge mistake that day," Lance offered quietly. "They ruined Team Rocket's image, probably. Too large a mistake."  
  
Amanda looked severely interested.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"They were beaten by a four year old..."  
  
~~~~  
  
Delilah grabbed Lance's arms and leaned in close, instinctively seeking safety. As Team Rocket continued their motto, Lance put his head nearer to Delilah's.  
  
"I don't like this. Delilah, take Ash and go. I'll see what I can do," he said softly. Delilah reared back a little.  
  
"Lance, I don't have him," she said worriedly. Lance turned to her, his black hair falling in his eyes.  
  
"_What_?"  
  
****  
  
Ash climbed up the steep steps, his determination not allowing him to grow tired. He knew where to go, though he was not sure of what he would find. He only kept his eyes on the large cup that had been lit special for this match. A bright flame, dancing proudly in all its glory. If the rumors were true...if what his dad had said was true....then these horrible people would be finished in an instant. If only he could get the Flame-Keeper to agree....  
  
"ASH! ASH! Where are you!" Lance yelled at the top of his lungs, the crowds swarming in panic all around him. Team Rocket was dropping bombs all over the place, wreaking havoc. A few of the stronger trainers in the stadium were trying to stop them, but Team Rocket's pokemon were just too strong. Lance and Delilah were trying to find Ash amidst the chaos, and Professor Oak was going to help just as soon as he made sure Gary was safe.   
  
"Where could he have gone?" Lance said softly to himself. "ASH!!! ASH! WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!"  
  
Ash reached the cup, panting from the long trip up. He heard none of the frantic cries of the people far below him. His mind made no connection with his father's yells. He could not feel the earth shake from the bombs, nor smell the acrid smoke that burned his nostrils and eyes. All that concerned him was the fire that stood majestically before him.  
  
"Please," he began. "Please, Fire Keeper. Help them. You are the only one who can," Ash said. He thought he saw the flames falter a little, and Ash felt as though his insides were being probed. "Please, Moltres. Please help. You are strong. You can," Ash begged. "Don't let people get hurt. Just stop them and you can go back."  
  
Ash watched for a few tense moments as the flames were silent. Then they disappeared. Like a candle blown out...they were gone. Despite this apparently discouraging act, Ash grinned. He knew the truth.  
  
Lance pushed his way through the crowds, searching desperately for his son. If something happened to him....  
  
"Fearow! I choose you!" Lance cried out, sending out his pokemon. He had nearly captured all hundred and thirty known pokemon, with the legendary ones remaining elusive. The great bird pokemon appeared in a flash of red light and hovered a few feet from its master and friend. "Fearow, fly up and see if you can find Ash!" Lance commanded. Fearow nodded and flew to the sky.   
  
Lance went back to searching the panicked crowds. While Fearow was searching from above, he could look below.   
  
When a wave of people nearly knocked him off of his feet, he looked up to see if Fearow was having any luck. But just as he did so, a huge blast of fire went soaring through the air, directed at Team Rocket. The huge explosion terrified some people even more, but most looked to see where such a huge blast could have come from. Lance was no exception, and what he saw both amazed and terrified him.  
  
The titan of fire, Moltres, soared through the air, its flames seeming to light the whole sky on fire. It was enough to take even Team Rocket's breath away. But something else quickly caught Lance's attention.  
  
"Lance! Have you found him?" Delilah asked, running up to him with Professor Oak. Lance pointed upwards at the great bird. Delilah and Oak looked up and Delilah nearly fainted.   
  
"All right, Moltres! Try another Fire Blast, but this time combine it with Fly!" Ash shouted out from his sitting position on Moltres's neck. The crowd below slowly settled down, taken by the image they were presented. Lance felt his mouth drop open.   
  
Ash grinned as Team Rocket looked panicked and he gripped tighter onto Moltres. The flames were not hurting him at all, and he felt a warm, soothing sensation in his calves as the fire gathered in Moltres's lungs and passed through the neck to come out the beak. Team Rocket began to scatter as Moltres totaled their equipment.   
  
"Moltres! Take Down and destroy 'em!" Ash cried out, pointing towards Team Rocket's machines. Moltres complied and Team Rocket was blasted away. "All right, Moltres! You did it!"   
  
Moltres flew down and landed. It bent its neck and let Ash slide off. It nuzzled Ash a little and flew off.  
  
~~~~  
  
"I couldn't believe it. I don't think anyone could. He handled a _wild legendary bird_! A _four year old_!" Lance exclaimed, shaking his head. "I would have thought it was a dream if he still didn't have his medal for bravery in the attic. Lalanie and Michael themselves presented it to him."  
  
"Wow," was all Amanda could say.  
  
"It was then I knew he was going to be a Master. The greatest of them all," Lance said truthfully. "I think Moltres recognized him at the Pokemon League. Had it been anyone else, and they would have been toasted."  
  
"What I saw was that he was the only defending the League. No other trainer stood up against them," Amanda added. Lance smiled.   
  
"Ash has always been my greatest joy."  
  
"You must have been thrilled when you found out you were going to have a son."  
  
"I was. Even though I was the last one to find out...."  
  
~~~~  
  
Delilah gathered up her coat and gloves, ready to head out. April Oak, Gary's and May's mother and Delilah's best friend, walked up to the door and knocked, and Delilah motioned for her to come in. April opened her mouth to greet Delilah, but she beat her to it.  
  
"April, I'm glad you're here. Can you keep an eye on Lance's Growlithe for a little while? It's been sick and I'm heading out for a little bit," she said.   
  
"Sure," April said.   
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Where are you headed?"  
  
"To the doctor."  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm feeling a little under the weather, but I think it's just a flu or something," Delilah answered, checking to see if she had everything.   
  
"Really? What are your symptoms?"  
  
"They're kinda weird. I've just been feeling....icklesome," she answered.  
  
"Icklesome?"  
  
"Yeah, that's a word my cousin made up for when you just feel blah."  
  
"Hm," April said, sitting down on the couch, her brow furrowed.   
  
"You know, I think I have to go on a diet. I've been gaining a lot of weight. I could hardly get into my jeans this morning," Delilah said, heading towards the door. "And I woke up at two yesterday and threw up. I don't understand it."  
  
April saw the red flag go up.   
  
"Del?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You don't think you're going to have a _baby_, do you?"  
  
"Don't be silly, April," Delilah said, waving her off and walked out the door. April shrugged and leaned back when Delilah burst back in.  
  
"A _baby_!?!?!" she exclaimed. April sat back up.  
  
"Yeah. That's a word my cousin made up for tiny little people," April responded.   
  
"You can't be _serious_," Delilah said, walking over.  
  
"Well, I had all those symptoms when I was pregnant with Gary and May. It fits the bill."  
  
"I'm leaving now, April. The doctor'll prove me right. You'll see. Honestly. A _baby_..." Delilah said and walked back out the door.  
  
****  
  
Two hours later, Delilah drifted into the living room, a dream like expression on her face. April put down the magazine.   
  
"Del?" she tried, but no response came forward. All there was was the grin on Delilah's face.   
  
"Delilah?" she tried again. Delilah turned to her.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What'd the doctor say?"  
  
"Oh, April...we're going to have a baby," Delilah said softly. April's face brightened.  
  
"We are?!"  
  
Delilah nodded.   
  
"I can't believe Lance is going to be a father. And I'm going to be a mother," Delilah sighed, leaning back in her chair.  
  
"And I'm going to be a....I am going to be _something_, aren't I?"   
  
"Of course, April. You and Professor Oak will be the godparents!"   
  
"Gee....I wonder what it's going to be...." April said softly. Delilah turned an amused expression on her.  
  
"It's going to be a baby!"  
  
"No! I wonder if it's going to be a boy or a girl," April explained.  
  
"Oh. I never considered that...."  
  
"I can't wait to see if I'm going to be a godmother or a godfather," April said absentmindedly. "I'll go tell dad!" she exclaimed and leapt towards the door.  
  
"No! April, wait!" Delilah said, putting a hand up.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Wait until I tell Lance! He's the father. He'd feel terrible if Sam knew before him!"   
  
"Oh...okay. How are you going to tell him?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Well, I'll see if I still have May's stuff around. I'm sure I do," April said and headed out the door. She turned in the doorway and she and Delilah clapped in excitement before April left.  
  
****  
  
Lance walked in, tossing his coat on the chair in the hallway. He sighed and loosened his tie (he hated getting dressed up, but this particular meeting at the Pokemon League required it). It had been a LONG day. A very long and tiring day. All he wanted at that moment was to lie on the couch and go to sleep. Well, he figured that he would have something to eat first. Delilah appeared at the top of the stairs, Lance walking past and into the kitchen. He was home. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs.   
  
Lance sat down in his chair with his sandwich, staring at the TV that was turned off. Delilah then came into his vision and he visibly brightened.   
  
"Hi, sweetheart!" he called, bits of sandwich flying out of his mouth. Delilah smiled and walked over. She sat down in his lap and he laughed in surprise. "Honey, what are you doing?" he asked. Delilah smiled warmly  
  
"Lance, I...." her beginning statement was stopped by Lance's chewing. "What are you eating for?"  
  
"I'm hungry! I haven't eaten all day!"  
  
"Swallow," she ordered. Lance gulped a very large piece of sandwich, hurting his throat.  
  
"Trying to kill me by choking?"  
  
"No. Now listen. Lance...."  
  
_Ringringring! Ringringring! Phone call! Phone call! Ringringring!_   
  
Lance started to get up to answer, but Delilah held him down.  
  
"What are you doing? Let me answer the phone," he said.   
  
"Can't it wait?"  
  
"Darling, I gotta answer this. It might be important," Lance answered and got up. Delilah frowned as she sat down on the couch.  
  
"Hello? Ah, Andy. What's up?....Again?....They can't do it on their own?....No, I don't want to come in right now. Tell them I'll be in tomorrow," Lance said and hung up the phone, shaking his head.  
  
"Rough day?" Delilah asked.  
  
"You're telling me. You know, being part of the Pokemon League isn't easy. It's not all battling and stuff. It's hard work," Lance said, as if Delilah was contradicting him. She nodded her sympathy and agreement. "It's not easy," he repeated. "And you get to spend the day in your garden. Believe me, if you switched places with me, you'd be surprised."  
  
"Believe me, Lance, if you switched places with me, _you'd_ be surprised," Delilah answered. Lance sat back down and she sat in his lap again.  
  
"I'm not allowed to eat my sandwiches, or something?"  
  
"Lance, listen....there's something I have to tell you...."  
  
_Ringringring! Ringringri--_  
  
"Darn that phone!" Delilah cried out, taking the phone off the the receiver and throwing it down.  
  
"What'd you do that for? It might have been someone important!"  
  
"Lance...."  
  
_Bzzzzz_  
  
"I've got to tell you...."  
  
"Darling, somebody's at the door."  
  
"They are?"  
  
"Yes! Now let me go answer it," Lance said, moving to get up again.  
  
"No, I'll get it," Delilah said and stood up. Lance moved to pick up the phone and answered to see who it was, but they had hung up.  
  
Delilah opened the door to see Professor Oak and April standing there, mouthing the question if she had told him yet.   
  
"No!" Delilah whispered harshly and shut the door in their faces. She walked back to Lance who appeared in the hallway.  
  
"Who was it?"  
  
"Nobody," Delilah answered and tried to lead Lance back to the couch, but he stopped.  
  
"And I suppose nobody's lab coat is caught in the doorway?" Lance asked and went to open the door. April and Oak were caught in the position of trying to get his coat unstuck, and they were whispering loudly. They stopped though as soon as they saw Lance. April grinned and laughed nervously.  
  
"Hi, Lance!"  
  
"Delilah, why'd you shut the door on them?"  
  
"Oh, it's all right, Lance, we like having doors shut on us, don't we, dad?"   
  
"Oh, yes, we love it. Do it every day. Go around to every person's house and have them shut doors on us," Professor Oak agreed. Lance shook his head.  
  
"Why don't you guys come in?"  
  
April and Oak saw Delilah vigorously shaking her head in the background.  
  
"No, no, thanks though. We were just leaving," April said and turned away.  
  
"No, come in. Besides, I want to talk with you, Professor," Lance said and ushered them inside. April threw an apologetic look at Delilah as they followed Lance.   
  
"Sit down, guys. I'm telling you, professor, you got into the right business of the Pokemon League. It was horrible today. Everything went wrong...."  
  
Delilah sighed as Lance went into detail about his day.   
  
****  
  
An hour and a half later, the conversation was finally slowing, Delilah sitting miserably in her chair, her cup of coffee sitting untouched in front of her. Just as Lance paused, Delilah caught her opportunity.  
  
"Do you guys really have to go?" she asked, standing up. April and Professor Oak looked confused at first, but then they caught the hint.   
  
"Oh, yes! We really must be going, shouldn't we, dad?"   
  
"Yes, yes, we must go," he said.   
  
"All right. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Lance said as they walked out the door.   
  
"What has gotten into you tonight, Delilah?"  
  
"Oh, Lance! I've been trying to tell you something!"  
  
"Well, all right, tell me now."  
  
"I...."  
  
_Ringringring! Ringringring! Phone call! Phone call! Ringringring!_  
  
"AARRGGH!" Delilah cried out. Lance gave a worried/puzzled/confused look and went to answer it.  
  
"Hello? Andy? I told you...oh no. No no no no no no!....All right, all right. Tell them I'll be right in," Lance said and hung up the phone.   
  
"But...." Delilah started.  
  
"I'm sorry, sweetie, I really am. But I have to go in," Lance said, putting on his jacket and kissing her goodbye. "I'll be back by dinner tomorrow, all right?" he promised and headed out the door.  
  
"But Lance! I need your help on something!"  
  
"Listen, sweetheart. Whatever it is, use your own judgment," Lance advised. Delilah could only stare at him, lower jaw falling open. "If you think it's a good idea....go with it," Lance said and shut the door.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Oh brother. Men," Amanda sighed, shaking her head. Lance laughed.  
  
"I know. I would've kept up like that too, had she not come to Viridian the next day and, well, _tried_ to tell me...."  
  
~~~~  
  
Delilah walked slowly into the the building, knowing where to find Lance. She entered the room and saw that everything was a chaotic mess. Lance was hurrying around, trying to fix everything.   
  
"Hi, Delilah," Andy greeted as she approached her husband. She nodded.   
  
"Lance?" Delilah said timidly as Lance went past her.  
  
"Delilah?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Lance, I have to tell you something very important, and you will not listen to me!" Delilah said.   
  
"What is it--"  
  
"Lance! Hey Lance!"  
  
"Lance! I need your help!"  
  
Everybody started calling Lance's name and he raised his arms.  
  
"All right, now everybody HUSH! Now I need absolute silence! My wife is here to tell me something very important...."  
  
Delilah's eyes widened.  
  
"And I need QUIET! Now FREEZE!" Lance shouted. They did so, and the whole place fell silent.  
  
"All right now, dear, what is it?" Lance asked tenderly, putting his hands on Delilah's arms. Delilah opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was distracted by the quiet and everyone staring at them. She looked around at each person, all pairs of eyes bearing harshly down into her. She felt the tears well up in her eyes.   
  
"Do you have the right time?" she asked through her held back sobs.  
  
"What? Darling, you couldn't have come all the way into Viridian just to ask me that," Lance said.   
  
"Yes, yes, I did. Do you have the right time?" she asked another person standing nearby. He checked his watch, but Lance turned her to face him again.  
  
"What's the matter, Delilah?"  
  
"Nothing!" she said and ran out. Lance stood there confused for a few moments before running after her.  
  
"Delilah! Delilah tell me what's wrong," he said after catching up to her. She looked down, but he put a finger under her chin and lifted her head up.Her eyes glittered with tears, and Lance could not help but worry,  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked again.  
  
"Lance, I...." Delilah paused as if she were expecting another interruption. When none came, she took a deep breath and continued.   
  
"I...You...oh, Lance! You're going to be a daddy!" Delilah exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face.   
  
"What?" Lance asked, hoping that what he had just heard was not a mistake.  
  
"I'm pregnant," she rephrased and there was a moment of silence before Lance let out a whoop of joy and picked her up and spun her around. She laughed and he set her back down.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me before?"  
  
"You wouldn't listen!"  
  
"Do April and the Professor know?"   
  
"Mm hm."  
  
"Delilah! I'm going to be a father!"  
  
~~~~  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Kevin frowned as he followed the Ketchum kid around the Plateau. The bug that Wendy had slapped on him had worked well. Too well. He had heard every word that he had said to Officer Jenny. And it was a lot of information. They just had no idea how much. And he knew the Jennys too well to be as stupid to assume that they would not be able to put two and two together soon.   
  
A scowl appeared on Kevin's already hard face as he thought of knowing the Jennys too well. The Pewter Jenny had not only broken his heart that he had so lovingly given out in a sweaty palm, but threw it on the ground and shattered it into a million pieces. And so if he could not be on their side, he went against them. Became part of the most feared group in Team Rocket.   
  
Kevin violently pushed away those thoughts into the far recesses of his mind and took off after Ash, his gray uniform blending in perfectly with the shadows of Indigo Plateau.  
  
****  
  
"Very nice, Lance. There may be hope for you yet," Giovanni praised, being presented with a Squirtle and a Hoothoot. Lance had been surprised when he saw the Hoothoot wander into his camp after Amanda had gone to sleep. Usually, they did not appear this far east. They were usually only found in the region of Johto. Which made this one even more special. And Hoothoots weren't common....  
  
"I'm glad you approve," Lance said sarcastically and Amanda elbowed him in the ribs. Giovanni didn't rise to the challenge, but rather shooed Amanda away.   
  
"Leave for a moment," Giovanni ordered and Amanda did so, but not before saluting crisply.   
  
Giovanni stood up and walked around his desk to stand in front of Lance and crossed his arms, leaning up against his desk.  
  
"Having fun, Lance?"  
  
"Biggest thrill of my life."  
  
"I'm glad. Now, I have another assignment for _you_."   
  
Lance raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, just me this time? I don't have to be embarrassed and and humiliated and humbled in front of anybody anymore?"  
  
Giovanni ignored him.  
  
"I assume you know Blaine, right?"  
  
"Of course I do, Giovanni. You do to."  
  
"Answer this: what kind of pokemon are good against fire?"  
  
"That's easy. Water, psychic, rock and ghost."  
  
Giovanni smiled, seeing that Lance had not yet made the connection. Since he figured that this game could go on all night, he decided to drop the bomb. He picked up a pokeball and rolled it around in his hands.  
  
"You know, I've always liked Blaine's pokemon," he said nonchalantly. Lance's eyes widened, accompanying the horrified look and dropped jaw.  
  
"NO! Giovanni, you CANNOT make me do that!" he exclaimed, backing a few steps away.  
  
Giovanni's grin grew wider.   
  
"I can't?"  
  
"NO!! I WILL NOT!"  
  
"I think that you will. Or I could easily call up Kevin. He's keeping an eye on young Ash there for me," Giovanni replied. He watched the (former?) leader of the Elite Four basically get torn apart from the inside out.  
  
"You are so cruel," Lance whispered, his head falling to his chest and dropping into a chair. It was just as good as a white flag of surrender.  
  
"You leave tomorrow," Giovanni said and left the room, leaving Lance alone. On the other side of the door, he looked down at his Persian, who was glaring at him. It had never liked the idea of risking holding Lance.   
  
"He's cooperating, but not for long. We have to do something. Something that'll hit him hard. Keep him in check. He might call a bluff," Giovanni muttered to himself and walked off to his room, his ever faithful pokemon trotting at his heels.   
  
****  
  
Lance, fully cloaked, stood on the bow of the boat, watching as Cinnabar Island slowly came into view over the horizon. Lance felt absolutely miserable thinking about what he had been ordered to do.   
  
The wind picked up, and Lance reached up to keep the hood from falling down. He had been given strict orders to not give away who he was....it would cause such an awkward situation...well. that was the way that Giovanni would have put it. Lance gripped the rail harder, his face receding further into the dark depths of the hood. He had been put in a no win situation. Even if he did go to Officer Jenny, Ash was being followed. His son would be down before he would know he had been hit. And Giovanni would order that Lance be kept alive, just so he could live out the rest of his life with his son's death on his conscience. Lance vowed to get Giovanni for this. No matter what.  
  
****  
  
Lance got some weird stares from the people of Cinnabar, but he paid no attention to it. He had become a machine. Erased of all moral thought. Just get the task over with. Quick and nearly painless. But he knew that he would suffer later. He would suffer big time.   
  
Lance easily found the entrance into Blaine's hidden gym. He had always known where it was, since it was required for the leaders to tell him everything that happened in or with their gyms. Of course, Lance had to spend three days trying to figure out Blaine's riddles. Lance had made a mental note to make some sort of law that he had to be told straight out, rather than run around. Lance felt a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, a ghost of a smile, as he thought of what had happened to him after the other gym leaders took Blaine's example and made Lance suffer their tricks so that he could figure out what they were trying to tell him. He remembered that Flint (when he was leader of the Pewter Gym) actually made him battle for the facts. Flint had pretended to think that Lance was a nothing, green as grass trainer who had the audacity to try for the Boulder Badge. Lance had been taken by surprise, but took out Flint's pokemon with his Dragonair and Flint spent half an hour laughing at Lance, telling Lance about his expressions when Flint challenged him.   
  
~~~~  
  
Lance sighed as he stood out the Pewter Gym, hoping that Flint would give him a straight out answer, unlike Erika, who had just pretended that he was a customer and swarmed ontop of him, smothering him with perfume samples. And he still smelled like enhanced and sweetened Gloom nectar, come to think of it. Lance straightened out his black cloak and entered the gym. He walked out onto the battle area, and seeing that he was the only on there, called out.  
  
"Flint! Are you there!"   
  
No answer.  
  
"Fli-int!!"  
  
Silence.  
  
"So, you have decided to challenge for the Boulder Badge, have you?" came a deep voice. Lance raised an eyebrow and looked behind him, to see if there was a trainer or something there. No one.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You are a little old to still be a beginner trainer, aren't you? No matter. No rule against it. Let the battle begin."  
  
"What the...."  
  
"Onix. Go."  
  
A huge rock snake appeared out of no where, roaring and very dangerous looking.  
  
"Oh, crap..." Lance breathed as Onix dived at him. He jumped out of the way (he had plenty of practice with Bruno's Onix, who found it fun to dive bomb Lance with rocks and bind him in the suffocating equivalent of a hug). He rolled and came to a stop behind a boulder and reached for his pokeballs.  
  
"Dragonite, I choose you!" Lance shouted and threw the red and white ball. The 5'3" dragon pokemon appeared, ready for battle.  
  
"Onix, bind."  
  
"Dragonite! Hyperbeam!"  
  
Onix was out before it got a chance to attack.  
  
"Not bad. Where did you get that Dragonite anyway? Did you steal it from the best in the world, or something?"  
  
"Flint! For pete's sake! It's me!"  
  
"I've never seen you before in my life. Graveler. Go."  
  
"Dragonite! End this with a Mega Punch!"   
  
End of Graveler.  
  
"Not bad. Not bad at all. Here's your Boulder Badge."   
  
A small gray badge came sliding next to Lance.  
  
"Thanks, I....hey wait! Flint! Stop it right now!" Lance growled. The voice started laughing hysterically and Flint appeared from out of the shadows, holding his stomach. He was _crying_ he was laughing so hard. Lance scowled and brushed off his clothes and recalled Dragonite.   
  
"Here you go, Lance. Here's the report," Flint said through his laughter, handing Lance a manila folder. Lance took it violently and tucked it under his arm.  
  
"It isn't that funny."  
  
"You should have seen your expression!"  
  
"Hm."  
  
Flint calmed down only enough to say,  
  
"Is that Gloom I smell?"  
  
~~~~  
  
Lance made his way down through the volcano, the temperature rising dramatically with every step. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but Lance made no movement to wipe it away. He had a task to do.  
  
He found Blaine in a small room, working on his computer. Lance was surprised that a computer could function in this intense heat (heck, he was surprised that Blaine could stand it day in and day out), but he focused on his task.   
  
"Mag," Blaine's Magmar greeted warmly (no pun intended), smiling. Blaine turned to see Lance's ominous shape in the doorway. He too smiled, happy to see his friend.  
  
"Lance! What are you doing here? It isn't time for the monthly reports," he commented, getting up from his chair. He took a few steps towards Lance, but Lance returned no such friendly gesture. Blaine noticed this, and frowned as he sensed something wrong.  
  
"You okay, Lance?"  
  
"No," was Lance's soft reply. At Blaine's confused and worried look, he decided to explain. In the harshest way possible. "Hand over your pokemon."  
  
"What are you talking about, Lance?"  
  
"Hand them over. They will become property of Team Rocket," Lance replied. Blaine backed away.  
  
"Migod, Lance! What are you doing?!"  
  
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," Lance said, and pulling from the depths of his cloak, a pokeball.   
  
"Go, Dragonair," Lance said, almost inaudibly. Panic rose up in Blaine.  
  
"I'm gonna die..." Blaine stated in realization under his breath before Lance attacked.  
  
****   
  
Lance fingered the pokeball that contained Magmar, feeling the warm heat that seeped through the sturdy walls. He took one last sad look at the volcano before running off. Running away...from a lifelong friendship just destroyed.  
  
****  
  
"Very, _very_ good, Lance. Very good. You are one of the best agents I've ever had," Giovanni said as Lance brought out all of Blaine's pokemon. Lance felt drained of all emotion. He felt like an empty shell, and he was watching from a distance. Was this how Giovanni wanted it? For all his members to be machines, instead of people?  
  
  
His blank eyes met Magmar's, who was glaring angrily. Rapidash flared brilliantly at Lance, using all its willpower to keep from attacking.   
  
"Do I get the rest of my pokemon back?" Lance asked in a monotone voice.   
  
"No," Giovanni responded quickly.   
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Not yet, anyway."  
  
"What will I have to do?" Lance was beyond feeling pain. Pain both physically and emotionally. He was too far gone. All he wanted was his pokemon.  
  
"First, Ash comes here," Giovanni said. This jerked Lance back to reality.  
  
"_WHAT!?_" he yelled at the top of his lungs.   
  
Giovanni, who had been expecting this, had posted guards (some Grays) outside the door and given them instructions to dart in immediately to restrain Lance. They did so, taking Lance by the arms and holding him fast. It took all of their strength, as Lance fought like a crazed demon.   
  
Giovanni calmly picked up the phone and dialed.  
  
"Yes, sir?" Lance could hear a male voice.  
  
"Get him," Giovanni said and Lance struggled harder, fire in his eyes and spirit.  
  
"_NOOO! Giovanni! YOU PROMISED! WE HAD A DEALL!!!_" Lance screamed, kicked and trying to break free of those horrible Grays.  
  
"Put him in a holding cell until he calms down," Giovanni ordered. The Grays grabbed a hold of Lance tighter and started to move him towards the door. Lance put all of his strength into resisting, wanting only to kill the orange-suited man who sat calmly and smugly in front of him. But he was outnumbered. And they had been prepared.   
  
Lance was dragged out into the dark hall, screaming the entire time.  
  
"WE HAD A DEAL!!! GIOVANNI!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT! I'LL KILL YOU! _WE HAD A_ _DEAL_!!!!!"  
  
Amanda watched from far back in the hall, concealed in the shadows and seeing for the first time how far Giovanni was willing to go to get the job done.......  
  
Giovanni looked down at his Persian, who was growling and very greatly agitated. Blaine's pokemon had been recalled, much to their great reluctance, and they sat on the desk.   
  
"Perr...siian. Sian prr... _(You know what could happen)_" Persian said, the lips curling around dangerous looking teeth. Giovanni patted the cat pokemon's head.  
  
"Don't worry. The blow has been delivered. He'll stay in line."  
  
"Prrr. Siansian._(You think so? I think this has only fueled his anger. He'll destroy you once he gets a chance.)_"  
  
"I don't doubt it. But once he sees that Ash is mine and will do what I say, he will too. And he'll see that I'm still following the deal. Ash won't be harmed. He'll just be...completing his training in a different fashion."  
  
"Sian. Perrsian _(You better know what you are doing.)_"  
  
"Oh, I do, Persian. I do. However, if he does not cooperate, his son _will_ suffer."  
  
"Sian sian, perr _(What are you going to do?)_?"  
  
"I have something interesting in mind for him. Something very interesting..."  
  
****  
  
Ash stared up at the silent stars, feeling guilty at the fact that he had not accomplished anything so far. His eyes fell down to the sleeping yellow ball of fur on his stomach, breathing contentedly. Ash smiled. What he would he do without Pikachu?   
  
"Pika?" Pikachu said sleepily, looking up. Pikachu did this a lot. He always seemed to know when Ash was watching him. And vice versa.   
  
"Hi, Pikachu," Ash said, smiling. The love he felt for his pokemon ran deeply, coursing through every vein.   
  
"Pi _(hi)_," Pikachu responded. Ash patted Pikachu's head. He could understand Pikachu perfectly, though it had taken a while to learn the language.   
  
Pikachu leaned into Ash's touch, almost purring in pleasure. Only when he heard a snap just outside the clearing did he pull away from Ash's hand. He pricked his ears and stared into the inky blackness of the forest.  
  
"What is it, Pikachu?"  
  
"Chu..._(I don't know...)_" Pikachu responded, his instincts screaming a warning at him.  
  
Ash knew never to ignore Pikachu's instincts and sat up. All had fallen silent again, and now the young trainer's own instincts were growing agitated. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Like he had felt so long ago when he saw those shadow men....Ash, though confused at remembering something that he had never remembered before, backed away from the small fire and into the other end of the clearing and into the trees. Safety. All he sought, was safety....Ash turned to see a tall man dressed in a Team Rocet uniform. Usually, Ash saw that uniform with annoyance, but this one struck fear through his heart, and he did not know why. The classic red 'R' was there, but the background was gray. Gray as a stormy sky over the ocean. Gray as the morning mist. Gray as a stalking shadow...  
  
"Hello," Kevin said dangerously, an evil smile creeping on face. Ash drew back in terror only to bump into another Gray. Scared out of his wits, Ash started running as fast as he could, Pikachu at his heels. He started hearing the gun shots, though they did not sound like regular gunshots, which were loud and angry. These were more muffled, more of a whistling sound. He heard/felt the bullets? whizz pas his head and body, while at the same time tripping over roots and trees and barging through very nasty pricker bushes. Pikachu's breathing grew labored, and Ash reached down and picked his friend up, his feet never missing a stride. He tucked Pikachu into his jacket, his sensitive ears telling him that they were in hot pursuit.   
  
"Why are they doing this?!" Ash cried out as leaped over a log.   
  
"Pika, Pikapi _(I'm scared, Ash!)_!"   
  
"Don't worry, Pikachu, I'll keep you safe!" Ash reassured. But at that moment, he tripped and fell down. Pikachu skidded a few feet, and Ash crawled towards him. Their chasers stopped a few feet away from them, breathing hard.   
  
"Now, we have you," Kevin said and raised his gun. Ash turned away and shut his eyes, his body covering Pikachu. He braced for the sudden sting of death when two shots fired.  
  
****  
  
Nothing. Ash felt nothing happen. Nothing pierced his skin. In fact, he was blown back by a sudden blast of wind. He hit against a tree and looked up to see a large blue sphere causing the Grays to go flying.   
  
He could tell there was shape inside that perfect sphere of light, but it was hard to make it out, it was so indistinct. The Grays smashed into trees with a sickening and fell to the ground, unconcious and bleeding lightly. Ash was breathing heavily and holding to Pikachu as if his life depended on it. Pikachu was pressing into Ash, getting as close as possible. The sphere fell to the ground a few feet in front of Ash.   
  
For some reason that he could not name, Ash did not fear this light. It looked....almost....familiar.....  
  
_"You gotta stop this right now!"_ his voice echoed in his mind.   
  
Shaking it away, Ash cleared his focus and the light disappeared to reveal its owner.  
  
A large cat like pokemon that stood on two legs that was predominately purple, with deep purple eyes that had such depth that it was like staring into infinity.   
  
"Are you all right?" it asked.  
  
Ash could only stare at it, his mind chasing after a memory? that remained elusive. Ash was overcome with a wave of deja vu.  
  
"Yeah...are you all right, Pikachu?" Ash responded after a minute. Pikachu nodded, snugling deeper into Ash's clothing.   
  
"Good. We have to get you out of here, Ash. There will be more on the way, if I know Giovanni," it said.  
  
"Mewtwo?" Ash tried out, the name randomly appearing in his head. He managed to voice it before it disappeared again.   
  
The cat pokemon looked down at him, emotions flashing in its eyes, as though it were trying to decide something. It sounded male to Ash, though he could not be sure.  
  
"That is my name," Mewtwo said.  
  
"Why can't I remember?" Ash whispered, his arms wrapping tighter around Pikachu, who welcomed the added warmth and pulse.   
  
"All will be explained later, Ash. Just come with me."  
  
"How do you know my name?"  
  
"How did you know mine?"  
  
"I....don't know..."  
  
"Come with me. It'll save you."  
  
"All right," Ash said, standing up. Even standing, Mewtwo towered over him.   
  
A white light surrounded Ash and Pikachu and moments later they were in a jungle overlooking a tall mountain in the distance.   
  
"Where am I?" Ash immediately asked. Pikachu remained in Ash's arms, equally confused.  
  
"You are in my forest," Mewtwo answered.  
  
"Why did you save us?"   
  
"Because you saved me. A while ago...."  
  
Mewtwo released his mental hold on Ash and Pikachu and the memories came flooding back. Suddenly, it all made sense.  
  
"Why did you not want me to remember?" Ash whispered. He had fallen to his knees and was staring at the moss covered ground.   
  
"It was better for everyone..." Mewtwo answered, though suddenly sounding unsure of his answer.   
  
"I would have kept it secret."  
  
"Pika pika (Me too)."  
  
"Maybe. But would you like to have remembered that you had died?"  
  
"I don't know. Where's Mew?"  
  
"She's off on the mountain. She doesn't like to be seen by humans. The...incident...on New Island was the exception. She had to save the world. As did you..."  
  
"What's going on?" Ash whispered, feeling exhausted.   
  
"You should be telling me. What were you doing in Indigo Plateau? You had no business there. And why was Team Rocket chasing you?"  
  
"What, I'm not allowed to visit a city?"  
  
"It is futile to try and lie to a psychic, Ash."  
  
"Do you know Lance?"  
  
"A little. I read what there is to read about him in the archives of my birthplace," Mewtwo answered, helping Ash up.  
  
"Did you hear about what happened to him?"  
  
"No."  
  
"He was kidnapped by Team Rocket. And I think they were after me because of what had said about them to Officer Jenny," Ash said, picking up Pikachu.  
  
"Kidnapped? Why?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess they wanted the best in the world."  
  
"And you were planning to save him?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Ash, Giovanni is a dangerous man. You don't realize what he can do."  
  
"Concerned about me?" Ash asked, amused.   
  
"No. I'm just warning you. I owe you that."  
  
"You seem to owe me a lot."  
  
"My soul."  
  
"What I don't get is, is why is Giovanni part of the League, if he is the leader of Team Rocket?"  
  
"He is in a very good position. Very effective to get things done for Team Rocket."  
  
"How do you know so much about Giovanni?"  
  
"I was created for him. He wanted the world's strongest pokemon..."  
  
"Man, when he wants something, he doesn't accept anything less, does he?"  
  
"No, I suppose not."  
  
"You gonna send me back?"  
  
"If you want."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I got an idea!"  
  
"What would that be?"  
  
"Why don't we work together?!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah! With you and your knowledge, I bet we could save Lance!"  
  
"I don't know...I tend to stay away from you humans and your problems."  
  
"Oh, come on, Mewtwo! I thought you had reformed to actually care about stuff! We can't just let him suffer!" Ash exclaimed, growing bolder.  
  
"Why does it matter so much to you?" Mewtwo asked. Ash could not answer. He felt that tug again....  
  
"I....I don't know. It just seems right."  
  
"I do have a score to settle with Giovanni.......all right. I will help," Mewtwo agreed. Ash grinned, as did Pikachu.  
  
"All right! Off to...to, uh...off to..."  
  
"Viridian?"  
  
"Off to Viridian!"


	5. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Six

Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Six  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon.  
  
Summary: Lance is set out on a mission that may very well destroy what little is left of his sanity....  
  
  
  
  
Giovanni walked slowly down the hallway, listening to his shoes pad softly on the tiled floor. Several squares of light crossed his face at even intervals as he passed each room (actually, they were the holding cells of Team Rocket), but he did not notice them. Persian trotted at his feet, its eyes flickering everywhere and showing its agitation. Giovanni calmed it with a touch of his hand where the head meets the neck and stopped before a room. He peered into the tiny window to see Lance sitting on the bed amongst the wreckage that he had done: torn pillows, blankets...blood on the walls and floors where he had ripped at them. But right at that instant he was sitting calmly, hands folded and supporting his chin. He was staring at the floor, shaking slightly.   
  
Persian growled, letting Giovanni become aware of its uneasiness.  
  
"Hush, Persian. I know what I am doing," he said, looking down at his faithful pokemon.  
  
"Perperr sssian (you say that so often....)."  
  
"Ash got away from Kevin. But that is all right. He doesn't know that," Giovanni said, motioning towards Lance. Persian did not say anything more....but it did not need to. Giovanni turned back to the window.  
  
"Hello, Lance. Feeling better?" he said loudly. Lance looked up quickly in surprise. Instantly, that surprise was dissolved by rage.  
  
"WHERE IS HE, GIOVANNI!!?? YOU BETTER NOT HAVE HURT HIM!!!" Lance bellowed, jumping up and leaping at the door, peering through the window.  
  
Giovanni stared confidently back into those boiling brown eyes.   
  
"He's fine, Lance. A lot like you, as a matter of fact."  
  
"Leave him alone."  
  
"I will."  
  
Lance paused here.  
  
"There's a catch."  
  
"Of course there is a catch, Lance. I'm a business man. There's two sides to everything."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You seem very eager to know....." Giovanni said suspiciously. Lance narrowed his eyes.   
  
"I will do what it will take."  
  
"How come you weren't this devoted before? I mean, you did leave him for pokemon...." Giovanni replied, knowing he had struck a vital nerve.  
  
Lance tried to respond....but found that he could not.   
  
"What is the catch?" he finally choked out.  
  
"That's a good boy. Now....you know what my business is, right?"  
  
"Ruin people's lives?"  
  
"Close enough. My business does what any other business does: get what the owner wants. And I want rare and powerful pokemon. And now for the million dollar question: who now has the most rare and powerful pokemon?"  
  
"Me?" Lance asked, sarcastic.  
  
"Yes...but who now?"  
  
Lance's eyes darkened as his mind made the connection.  
  
"That.....Giovanni....is something I cannot...will not...do."  
  
Giovanni rolled his eyes in exasperation.  
  
"Do we really have to go through this every time? It gets rather tiring."   
  
"Where do you even get the gall to ask me to do that?" Lance asked, rather calm. He was disgusted....as if Giovanni had violated some ancient taboo that was older than time itself. Giovanni just smiled amusedly.  
  
"Simple. Get them for me and Ash goes free...unharmed."   
  
Giovanni smiled as he watched the internal struggle play out on Lance's face.   
  
Seeing that he was hesitating, Giovanni went in for another blow.  
  
"Well, if you are going to take this long about it, I will go now. I am scheduled for another.....'interrogating' session with young Ash there...." he trailed off and turned to leave.  
  
"I'LL DO IT!" Lance shouted in horror, not wanting to imagine what Giovanni did to 'interrogate.'   
  
"That was rather sudden. How can I trust that you'll follow through?"   
  
"When have you ever known me to break my word?" Lance asked softly, remembering their conversation when he had been first...volunteered into Team Rocket. Giovanni smiled, but far from warmly. It was the smile of an enemy that had victory in his sights.....a smile of a villain...who had won.  
  
"Good. Tomorrow you head out...to get the Elite's pokemon."   
  
****  
  
Ash munched noisily on his food, staring into the fire with Mewtwo observing curiously from the other side.  
  
"Why do humans enjoy food so much?" he finally asked. Ash looked up at him.  
  
"Gee...I don't know. Don't pokemon?"  
  
"To most of us, food is merely something needed to survive. We do enjoy it....but not so much as humans. I assume it is because you tend to have stronger taste buds than us," Mewtwo replied.  
  
"You're admitting that? That humans have something over pokemon?"  
  
"Oh, Ash, how irrelevant. Taste has nothing to do with the greater scheme of things."  
  
"So? Who cares? We're at least superior to you guys in one way!" Ash cried triumphantly, some food flying out of his mouth.  
  
"And I have noticed that humans tend to put much value in tiny victories...." Mewtwo said bitterly, dropping the subject after that. Ash just grinned at him and went back to eating. Pikachu crawled into Ash's lap while he munched on his pokemon food.   
  
"How long have you had Pikachu?" Mewtwo wondered aloud.  
  
"About...what is it, Pikachu? Year and a half? Two years now? Around there."  
  
"You two have a strong bond that I have rarely seen between humans and pokemon," Mewtwo commented. Ash shrugged.  
  
"Pikachu's my best friend. Can't imagine the world without him," Ash said lovingly, gazing down at his partner in crime.   
  
"Chu pika (Vice versa)."  
  
"Course, we weren't always the best of friends," Ash said. Mewtwo cocked his head slightly....a habit unknowingly picked up from Mew.   
  
"Pikachu hated me at first. But after that flock of Spearows attacked us, we became friends. Right buddy? I tried to get him in a pokeball, but he wouldn't go. Made me so mad. And mom thought we were playing catch," Ash said, laughing lightly at the memory, Pikachu looked embarrassed.   
  
"Your mom seems nice," Mewtwo said after a pause.  
  
"How do you know that?" Ash questioned suspiciously. To Ash, it seemed that Mewtwo actually smiled at that. Though it looked sort of jerky and unsure...as if the muscles were working for the first time.  
  
"You ask a psychic how he knows?" Mewtwo responded. Ash smiled.  
  
"Guess you're right."  
  
"You have your mother on your mind a lot...."  
  
"You messing around with my mind, Mewtwo?"  
  
"You always broadcast your thoughts so clearly that I cannot help but stumble upon them. But if you wish, I will try to ignore them more. I understand that humans have a great need for privacy."  
  
"It's all right, I guess."  
  
"But as I was saying, you have your mother on your mind a lot...but never your father. Why?"  
  
Ash hesitated here, his eyes staring intently into the fire, as if the flames would provide an answer to this.  
  
Mewtwo waited patiently...yet curiously...for an answer.  
  
Pikachu looked up at Ash and frowned, somehow aware of the pain and confusion that was cascading through his friend.  
  
"I....never knew my father," Ash said quietly. Mewtwo cocked his head again.   
  
"Wait...I take that back. I suppose I knew him once...because.... sometimes, I think I hear him. See him. Late at night. When it's dark...and stormy....you know how you can never tell if you are feeling your heart or hearing it? Well, that is how it is with his voice. I can never be sure. But it calms me...tells me that everything will be all right...and that it will all be over eventually. So I must have known him. But that is all that know of him now....echoes," Ash said. Pikachu's frown deepened. He had never known this. Ash had kept the pain inside....all this time....  
  
Mewtwo was not sure of how to respond to that.   
  
"What happened to him?" he managed to ask. Ash shrugged.  
  
"Don't know. He could be anywhere. Be anyone. Often, when I'm in a city, and I pass a guy on the street, I wonder if that's him. Or if that guy knows him. I'm absolutely clueless, to tell the truth. I don't even know his first name."  
  
"But your mother...."  
  
"Refuses to talk about it. I think it causes too much pain for her. So I just stopped asking. Get on with my life," Ash said with a certain finality in his tone that made Mewtwo stop with the questioning. Mewtwo looked at the boy in front of him who stared back through the flames as though he were looking through the fires of Hell....  
  
The Chosen One.  
  
16th in the Pokemon League.  
  
Champion of the Orange League.  
  
Beginning competitor in the Johto League.  
  
Tamer of legends.  
  
Greatest of them all.  
  
Ash.  
  
Who did not know who his father was.  
  
****  
  
Lance ran silently....stealthily through the forest, his black cloak trailing behind him like bat's wings. Low hanging branches tapped him lightly on the shoulder, encouraging him forward while the pricker bushes stood stubbornly in his way, as if challenging him to a duel.   
  
Lance pushed his way through them, though, ignoring them. His mind was focused on one central idea: get the job done. It was mechanical...no emotion was able to force its way through...as if they had been sucked into a black hole. Perhaps they had been.  
  
The forest was unusually quiet, the Pidgeys and Spearows keeping their beaks shut for once....Lance only hoped that that would not raise too much suspicion. People tended to get upset when something out of the ordinary occurred.....  
  
The only real obstacle, however, were the alarms systems. Lance knew where they were and exactly what they did....and Lance was glad for once in his life that he attended that briefing on the systems...and he was grateful that Lorelei had made him pay attention to it.  
  
Lance leaped over sensor beams and dodged cameras hidden up in the trees. The Elite mansion was very well protected....Lance finally came to the edge of the forest, his cloak settling to a mild swirling around his ankles. He crouched behind a large maple tree, studying the situation. The mansion was enormous....with tones of lights both inside and out, emphasizing its grandeur. It would not be that hard to get in....if it had not been for the new guards that patrolled the perimeter with their viscous looking Arcanines and Growlithes. There was even a Scyther accompanying one guards. Lance gulped involuntarily. He had handled many a Scyther before...but now the long curved blades looked far sharper this side of the battle. Lance cursed at the fact that guards had been hired....and he knew that it had been him who was responsible for it. They could not have another Elite disappearance. Lance looked up at the top window, three silhouettes apparent in the golden light. The biggest one fingered a pokeball nervously while one paced back and forth and the other sat tensely in a chair. Lance pushed back momentary sentiments before it got the better of him and went back to his task.  
  
He was forced to wait until the relief shift came in, allowing a few seconds for him to make his move. A few seconds was all he needed. With powerful strides, Lance bounded up to the mansion and made his way up the wall, cracks in the brick providing hand and foot holds. The cracks tore at his fingernails, but he paid it no heed. He needed to get to the roof as quickly as possible. A ledge and a drain pipe made the job easier, and he made it to the roof just as a guard rounded the corner with an Arcanine.  
  
Lance ran across the roof, his cloak concealing him like a shadow, until he reached the kitchen's sun roof. Forcing the window open with a knife, Lance jumped through, sending a shot of pain up his shin bone as he landed on the linoleum floor, but he kept going. He was quick through the pokemon decorated hallways, his feet moving practically by themselves. He could have gone through the entire mansion blind folded.  
  
Lance paused outside the door to the Common Room, as it was called, where guests of the League often stayed. It was open just a crack, and he peered through it.  
  
"Where could he be, that stupid idiot!" Lorelei voiced angrily, rubbing her shoulder.   
  
"I really think that something bad has happened to him," Bruno said softly, gripping the pokeball in his hand. "Officer Jenny is thinking about declaring him officially dead," he added. Lance almost burst at this, but he caught himself.  
  
"What?!?!?!" Lorelei voiced for him. Even Agatha, who had been silent until now, looked surprised.  
  
"Why would she do that?"   
  
"Well, it is the law....and they can't keep searching forever..." Bruno said, stating what he saw as fact. Lorelei looked away, a sense of hopelessness in her eyes.   
  
"What are we going to do?" Lorelei whispered loudly.   
  
"You're going to prepare for trouble," Lance took his cue. All three of them looked up in surprise and disbelief as Lance entered.  
  
"LANCE!?!?!? Where have you been!?!?!?" Lorelei cried out, running towards him...arms outstretched. The coldness in Lance's features stopped her dead though.  
  
"Lance?" she prompted.   
  
"To protect the world from devastation," Lance said dangerously low, walking slowly towards Lorelei, who backed up.  
  
"Lance, what's wrong? What are you doing?"   
  
"What am I doing? I'm being a good father, Prima. Even if it means being a bad friend...." Lance answered, tears filling his eyes. He had been unable to stop them.  
  
Bruno and Agatha rose, sensing a battle.   
  
"Hand over your pokemon," Lance said, choking a little on the words. "They will become property of Team Rocket..." Lance said, a tear falling freely down his cheek. Lorelei was stunned. She had never seen him cry....  
  
"Never..." Lorelei whispered.  
  
"I'm afraid, Lorelei, that you are wrong....Aerodactyl! Dragonair! Gyrados! Dragonite! I choose you! And if they fight.....crush them," Lance said, venom dripping in his voice.  
  
"My God...." Bruno breathed as he pulled out his pokemon along with his friends. "We're going to die......"  
  
The darkness, when it finally came...after an eternity....was a blessing.   
  
Lance felt the tears fall as he gathered the pokeballs from the unconscious and bleeding bodies at his feet.   
  
"I'm sorry, guys. Forgive me someday...." Lance said softly before he left.  
  
But he had to do it.  
  
Lorelei had seen him cry.  
  
And no one sees the dragon trainer cry.   
  



	6. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Seven

Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Seven   
Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Seven  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon. I don't.  
  
Summary: Short. Um....dreams. Kind of strange. Lance is, in a way, gone...replaced by something differnt. Cold. And perhaps evil....  
  
  
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. One word: School. 'Nuff said.  
  
  
  
Of crystal flames and burning dreams  
The fire dances as he deems  
"That you shall die tonight."  
Casting me into a forever blight  
Throwing me into a forever night  
"No!" I say, "It cannot be!"  
But he has power over me  
My pleas fall upon deaf ears  
As quickly cascade my tears  
I beg to finish  
Before I diminish  
There is one thing I yearn for  
Before he closes on me the door  
So he gives me "One last thing to do."  
I chose an answer to a question that haunts me still and calm I am, I ask,  
"Who are you?"  
  
  
  
Amanda hesitated outside the great black doors, wondering why the heck she was doing this. This was as dangerous as poking a sleeping Gyarados in the eyes. Taking a deep breath and summoning up her courage, Amanda finally pushed the doors open. She took one step inside, as far as she was willing to go, waiting for acknowledgement. Giovanni had his back to her, sitting in his forest green chair and staring into the fire. Persian sat up and gave a low warning growl.   
  
"What do you want, Amanda?" Giovanni said in his deep voice.  
  
"I....I just wanted to know....when....."  
  
"When you and Lance will be on another mission."  
  
Amanda nodded her head, even though she knew that Giovanni could not see her.   
  
"Lance will not be joining you any more," Giovanni said, interpreting her silence. Amanda's brow furrowed in confusion.   
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
Giovanni snapped his fingers, and from a hidden door that Amanda had never noticed before, Lance's dark and imposing figure appeared. Amanda felt her heart speed up. This was not the Lance she had first met....this was a creature....a creature of darkness....  
  
"Because, Amanda, I am the best...." Lance said softly, with venom oozing from his voice. Amanda gasped at his outfit. Full body....and gray. Amanda knew that Lance was gone. The training and 'conditioning' that the Grays had to go through....the extensive pain on both body and mind.......Lance had been killed.  
  
"You will be recieving your new partner shortly, Amanda. My, my, you do seem to be going through partners don't you? First Aaron and now Lance? Try and keep a tight leash on the next one, will you? I don't want to have to send out for recruits," Giovanni said and waved his hand to dismiss her. Amanda felt betrayed. Lance...that sweet man who had an immense love for pokemon and his son....was gone.   
  
****  
  
_Trapped.   
  
Darkness.   
  
Cold.  
  
Pain.   
  
I cannot feel anymore.   
  
My heart no longer beats.  
  
I have forgotten...  
  
Warmth  
  
Love  
  
Why is it so far beyond my reach?  
  
Why am I here?   
  
Did I put myself here?  
  
Shell.  
  
I cannot find myself.  
  
Too dark.  
  
Too deep.  
  
Too harsh.  
  
Too cold....._  
  
****  
  
Ash woke with a start, sweat beading on his forehead. He had had a dream that he was trapped in some sort of cell. One that had no doors. An eternal prison from which there was no mistake. And the feeling was all to real...hitting too close to home, striking a chord deep within him.  
  
"You okay, Ash? You were broadcasting your fear so loudly...." Mewtwo asked from across the campsite, Pikachu looking worriedly up at his friend.   
  
"Yeah, Mewtwo, I'm fine. Bad dream," Ash explained. Mewtwo gave a puzzled expression but accepted it and went back to planning. Ash looked down at Pikachu, who scowled.  
  
"I'm fine, Pikachu. All right? Now go back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Ash said firmly and layed back down. Pikachu still did not accept it, but went to sleep anyway.   
  
****  
  
Lance sat in the darkened room, the only light being a dying one hanging from the ceiling. His legs were crossed and the shadows covered his face, making him extremely sinister and dangerous looking. There was more than just skill that had brought him to the top of the Pokemon League and beyond. No thoughts danced in his head. No emotions were set free. A virtual blank that was the picture of the ultimate warrior.   
  
Giovanni grinned to himself as he watched Lance sit calmly, his muscles gathering energy, as if preparing for an attack. Lance was the supreme Gray, the one he had been striving to create for so many years. A couple more of these and Team Rocket would be feared all through Kanto as well as Johto and beyond.   
  
_Broken.  
  
I feel beaten.  
  
Disgusted.  
  
Who are you?  
  
You are not me.  
  
Never was.  
  
I will not be defeated..._  
  
Giovanni looked down at Persian, who for once was calm.  
  
"I told you, Persian, that I knew what I was doing. Humans are the same as pokemon. Defiant and often strong willed. They just need to be....broken. After that, they make fine servants," he said and walked off, Persian watching his retreating back with suspicion, wondering exactly what he meant by that.   
  
****  
  
Lance walked out onto the deserted pokemon battle field, his long black cloak trailing behind him. It was an open top stadium, and from what Lance could tell the sky above was black, the only lights being the stadium lights, creating large halos on the ground and casting the rest into shadows. A wind came up, gently brushing the hair away from Lance's face as he walked into the trainer's square.   
  
"Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing. When no one answered, he tried to take another step forward, but he found that he could not, as if a Mr. Mime had placed a Barrier there.   
  
"Is anyone here?" Lance tried again, louder this time. Still no answer. Now sensing that there was something intensely wrong about this whole thing, Lance turned to run but could not move that way either. He knew this could not be a dream...everything was all too clear, too precise. Dreams were always vague...unclear...  
  
"Where are you going, Lance?" a deep voice called out, but it did not echo as Lance's did. Lance turned abruptly to see a shadowy figure up on a balcony he had not seen before.  
  
"Who are you?" Lance asked, surprised that he did not sound more afraid.  
  
"Who do you think I am?"  
  
"What do you want?" Lance demanded, growing bolder. This voice was nothing but a shadow....and shadows can't harm people... in reality or in dreams.   
  
"What do you think I want?" the voice asked and reached up with a shadow hand to snap. A pokemon came out from out of nowhere, but Lance could not exactly tell what kind it was.   
  
The strange thing was was that he did not care at that moment. Lance reached to his belt to retrieve a pokemon, when his hand met air.  
  
"Huh?" Lance voiced and looked down. His pokeballs were not there. It was then that he noticed that his clothes were not the ones he usually wore for battles. It was full body and gray with black boots, and a crimson colored R emblazoned on the front. He looked back up at the shadow man, panicked.  
  
"Go."   
  
With that simple command the pokemon lunged forward, and Lance held his hands up in defense. Lance had his eyes shut, but due to the crazy, nearly nonexistant logic to this place he could see, and what he saw was a beam shooting away from his being and hitting the attacker.   
  
An almost human cry was torn from the pokemon, flying backwards and hitting the far wall with a sickening thud. Astonished, Lance walked over, wanting to know what he defeated. He picked the body, and screamed in terror at what he saw.  
  
A young boy, with hair as black as his and dark brown eyes that were wide open in fear and pain. And betrayal. Lance looked down and saw that there was a small hole in the boy's stomach, dark blood trickling from it.   
  
The last thing Lance heard was his own anguished, screaming voice and the man's hysterical laughing before the world around him and a new one formed.  
  
It was a dark prison, filled with perpetual darkness and cold, with mold and slime on the walls. The cold was so piercing that Lance felt it down to the very deepest part of his being. It was the most horrible place that Lance could imagine. This was a place where the demons go. Where the evil spend eternity.   
  
Only sometime later would Lance realize that he was awake.  
  
  



	7. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Eight

  
Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Eight  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon.  
  
Summary: Not all battles are fought on the pokemon battle field.  
  
  
  
Lance looked away from the mold covered ceiling as a little red light started flashing by the door. It was the signal from Giovanni that he was needed. Lance stared at the light for a while, as if hypnotized by it, before getting up off the sagging, poor excuse for a bed and walked over to the metal door. Lance placed a palm over the red light and it stopped flashing. Just to become one continuous light. The door, with a noisy protest, swung open on rusty hinges. Lance stepped out and waited for the next door to open. It took a few minutes, but he expected that. Giovanni liked to have those who were under his control squirm. It was fun. A game that was unbelievably one sided.  
  
"Ah, Lance, there you are," Giovanni said as the door opened for Lance to come in.  
  
"As if I could be anywhere else," Lance muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said nothing."  
  
"Hm. Anyway, I would like you to take out a team tomorrow."  
  
"To search for Mewtwo?"  
  
"Yes. So you did read the report I gave you."  
  
"Any leverage is good leverage," Lance said, hinting at his murderous intentions. Giovanni paused a moment before bursting out laughing.  
  
"I knew you'd eventually make it. Just as I envisioned. Lance Ketchum: the ultimate Gray. Fearless with a heart that is as black as pitch. Not afraid to kill to satisfy his raging temper."  
  
"You're wrong, Giovanni."  
  
"Am I? I know you will kill me as soon as you get the chance. I have seen many Gray's go through this. I know what's happening to you, Lance. Your blood is running hot. You ache to destroy....perfect."   
  
"I will search for your pokemon, Giovanni. But you touch Ash and you cannot even start to dream of my wrath."  
  
Lance knew that that would have sounded more intimidating had Giovanni not started laughing again.  
  
"See what I mean? You have a darker heart than you think. Evil and sinister. Look in the mirror, Lance. After all, mirrors never lie..." Giovanni said, holding up a small mirror. Lance knew he should resist, but his eyes fled to the round piece of reflective glass. A part of him twisted at what he saw. A dark light seemed to cling to him, dancing around him. Another part felt satisfied, yet greedy for more at the same time.   
  
"Did you know that the Dictionary defines the word Lance as 'a weapon with a long wooden shaft and a metal head.' Even your name suggests your true self. The perfect weapon. Neat and deadly. "  
  
Lance looked away from the mirror and into Giovanni's eyes. They stayed like that for a while before Giovanni smiled.  
  
"You ever play chess, Lance?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Chess. Have you ever played it?"  
  
"A couple of times."  
  
"Good. We'll have to play sometime. Maybe when you get back with Mewtwo," Giovanni said, dropping his hand to pet Persian. Lance said nothing, his mind trying to interpret the symbolism of playing chess.   
  
A green light began to flicker on Giovanni's desk. Giovanni frowned at it before standing up.  
  
"Looks like I have a challenger. I'll be back in a minute. You're welcome to come watch," Giovanni said, walking to the door with Persian at his side. Lance remained in place as Giovanni turned back to him as he reached the doors.  
  
"Oh, and Lance?"  
  
"What."  
  
"Checkmate."  
  
****  
  
Lance found his way to the balcony where Giovanni usually sat when he battled trainers. He walked over and stood next to Giovanni, who smiled triumphantly up at him.  
  
"I was waiting for you. What made you decide to come watch?"  
  
"Any leverage is good leverage," Lance said, folding his hands behind his back. Giovanni's smile grew larger as he checked a monitor on the arm of his chair. It showed him the challenger as they found their way to the battle field. The image stunned Giovanni for just a moment before he realized that this situation could work to his advantage.   
  
"Lance," he said, turning back to his one time friend. Lance turned his gaze from the empty field and looked back at Giovanni.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why don't you take this one?"  
  
"That is against the rules, Giovanni. Only gym leaders and their challengers may battle. The League prohibits--"  
  
"Rules? What rules? This is Team Rocket. And Team Rocket makes their own rules. No get down there and battle."  
  
"Even if I was tempted in the least to go down there, I would have no chance of battling. I have a Squirtle and a Metapod. They would get the unattainable Earth Badge," Lance spat, glad to have something on Giovanni that could work for him. Giovanni had taken his dragon pokemon back after Lance had stolen from the Elite and in turn gave him the Squirtle. As if that could compensate.   
  
"Not if I return these," Giovanni said and handed Lance a couple of pokeballs. Lance's heart jumped, but soon fell again when he noticed that one of them was missing.   
  
"I still have Dragonite. You will need him tomorrow. Until then....go down there and battle. And don't try anything. I have a device in those pokeballs that is set to explode if you try and run," Giovanni warned. Lance stood in silence before turning away and heading to the field.   
  
****  
  
"Where is he, Giovanni?" Mewtwo asked harshly, supporting Ash's demands and quotes of morality. He was met with all too familiar laugh.   
  
"Where is who, Mewtwo?"   
  
"You know who I am talking about."  
  
"Maybe. But first, the boy must battle. Only then will I give you answers."  
  
"No--"  
  
"It's all right, Mewtwo. I can do this," Ash reassured. "I accept the challenge!" Ash shouted up at Giovanni.   
  
"Very well," Giovanni said and pushed a button on his chair. The door on the far end of the field opened. Ash squinted, but he could only see darkness. He thought he heard a muffled command, but had no time to interpret it before there was a flash of red light and a Dragonair appeared, fully healthy.  
  
"Think you can handle this, Mewtwo?" Ash asked softly.   
  
"I can handle anything, Ash," Mewtwo said and flew up to hover a few feet off the ground, a blue light glowing around him.   
  
"Hyper beam," the soft voice said and Dragonair responded immediately, with no hesitation in building up power. Ash, while knowing that this mysterious opponent was an enemy, could not help but admire the obvious and seamless teamwork between trainer and pokemon. Mewtwo tried to dodge, but was hit with a glancing blow that dragged him back a second.   
  
"Mewtwo, use your psychic!" Ash said instinctivily. Mewtwo looked back at him.  
  
"I know what I am doing, Ash," he said and formed one of his energy balls in his hand and threw it at the Dragonair. It was hit in the stomach and was thrown backwards. It jumped back up immediately, shaking off the pain.   
  
"Gyrados, you too," the voice said and another pokemon appeared.  
  
It attacked before Ash had the chance to say "unfair." He found himself frozen in fear as the Gyardos 'ran' onto the field, powering up for Dragon Rage.  
  
"Not again," he whispered as the dragon pokemon came forward at full force, its teeth suddenly looking very sharp. Mewtwo found himself too centered on that pokemon so that he did not realize that the Dragonair was building up its power too. There was going to be a combined attack.   
  
"Hyperbeam," the voice said and two orange yellow beams shot out. Mewtwo had no time to react. He was hit full force and fell to the ground.   
  
"Mewtwo!" Ash shouted.  
  
"Destroy them," came the command without hesitation.   
  
"NO!" Ash cried and jumped out of the shadows to shield Mewtwo.  
  
Giovanni grinned. Almost there.  
  
There was a pause before the enemy trainer yelled,  
  
"SSSSTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOPPP!!!!!"  
  
The two dragon pokemon skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and causing damage to themselves.   
  
Lance ran out of the room, tearing off the headphones that Giovanni had been using to give him instructions on the intensity of the attacks.  
  
Giovanni stood in a rage.   
  
Lance ran to Ash and peeled him away from the cat pokemon.   
  
"Ash..." he said as he looked into the boy's face.  
  
"Dragonite! Finish them!" Giovanni ordered. If his plan was not going to work, then it had to be completely terminated. Lance turned in horror as a Dragonite, his Dragonite, materialized out of a red beam of light and immediately began to attack. It was now under Giovanni's control.  
  
"Wait!" Mewtwo ordered, stopping Dragonite's Hyperbeam with a Barrier.   
  
"If I go with you, will you let them go?" Mewtwo asked, keeping the Barrier up. There was a pregnant pause.  
  
"You are bluffing," Giovanni said.  
  
"I am not. Let them go free," Mewtwo replied.  
  
"Go," Giovanni said after minutes of deliberation and deactivating the detonators on Lance's pokeballs. "Go before I destroy you all."  
  
"Go. I will find a way to escape," Mewtwo reassured. Lance nodded, even as Ash hesitated. Ash was never one to leave a friend behind.  
  
"But--"  
  
"Go, Ash!" Mewtwo ordered and Lance practically picked up Ash to drag him out the door, his pokeballs in hand.   
  
The last thing that both Lance and Ash heard was,  
  
"Ultra ball, go."  
  
****  
  
"We're going back for him, right?" Ash asked as he stared into the fire that Lance was throwing more wood into.  
  
"Of course we are, Ash. But right now you need to rest. You've had a hard day."  
  
"I probably can say the same for you," Ash replied quietly, looking at a scar on Lance's cheek. Lance smiled.   
  
"More than you know."  
  
"So you're Lance, huh?" Ash asked after a long silence. slowly stroking an equally interested Pikachu.  
  
"One and only."  
  
"I suppose I won't be able to compete in the Pokemon League anymore."  
  
"Now what gave you that idea?"  
  
"I know what you look like. I've seen your pokemon," Ash answered glumly. Lance smiled as he sat next to Ash.  
  
"As far as I know, there is nothing in the League rule book that prohibits you from competing now. But I will ask that you keep your mouth shut on what you know about me, okay? I don't want people to actually know how to defend themselves against me."  
  
"Why is that? I mean, I'm never allowed to know about gym leader's pokemon. I remember when I went to Saffron to battle Sabrina, I asked Brock about the gym leader, and he said he wasn't allowed to talk about stuff like that," Ash said.  
  
"Ash, the gyms are there to challenge a trainer's skill and talent. To see how well they can handle pokemon in a situation where he or she has no knowledge of what to expect. They can only know that it will be hard. Like real life. You never know what to expect. Only how well a trainer handles themselves and their pokemon in a seemingly no win situation determines who is a true pokemon master and who is meant for different things. Do you understand?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Good."  
  
There was a long silence as both Ash and Lance, novice trainer and Master, sat side by side. Both uncomfortable.   
  
Questions ran through Lance's mind at break neck speed, questions that demanded to know everything about Ash. Lance could only pick the one that refused to stay inside his mouth.  
  
"So how have you been, Ash?"  
  
"Um...pretty good."  
  
"That's good."  
  
"I would ask how you've been, but...."  
  
Lance laughed.  
  
"Considering, I've been all right. I'm alive. How's your training going? You gotten that Charizard under control yet?"  
  
"Not real---hey! How do you know about Charizard?"  
  
"It's my job to know about every trainer that comes into the Plateau to compete. So how about your Charizard?"  
  
"He's--now wait a minute! I can't know anything about you, so why should you know about me?"  
  
"I told you. Real life situation. You with no leverage and the enemy with all the leverage in the world. Proves who is a true Master."  
  
"If you were a true Master than you'd be able to beat me without knowing anything," Ash challenged back. Lance could not help but smile again.  
  
"You know, it's scary."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"How much you sound like me. No wonder your mother thinks that you...never mind." Lance said, quickly catching himself.  
  
"What? How do you know my mom?"  
  
"I don't."  
  
"But, you just said...."  
  
"I was thinking of somebody else," Lance replied swiftly.   
  
"Oh," Ash replied softly, not quite believing Lance.  
  
Lance turned his gaze back to Ash, and his eyes fell to Pikachu, who was resting quite comfortably in its friend's lap.  
  
"So you did get a Pikachu."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"It's always been your favorite pokemon, hasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah...how did you know that?"  
  
"I told you. It's my job to know."  
  
"My dad liked Pikachu's too. He thought they were world's cutest pokemon," Ash said quietly. Lance froze. When he spoke, it was tense and ultra-controlled.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I don't know. I just remember a voice saying that. I hear it sometimes. I've always just assumed that it was my father."  
  
"Who was your father?" Lance asked, trying to keep up a normal facade.  
  
"I don't remember him. He left my life before I can really remember things."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"I don't know. I asked mom once and she got all upset. I hate making her cry. So I stopped asking. I don't know what happened. There are so many different maybes I've come up with. Maybe he died....maybe he fell in love with someone else...maybe he was lost in the Amazon....maybe he's living with an unknown tribe cannibals in Fiji," Ash said light heartedly. Lance gave a small laugh.  
  
"I've always thought he should have become famous. He must have really loved pokemon. I mean, where else would I have gotten my love for it?"  
  
"Famous, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. But then I would have heard about him, right?"  
  
"Never know."  
  
"Every day, when I walk down the street, or I pass somebody, I wonder if maybe that could be him. If I've seen him a million times and never known it. If I was sitting right next to him and never would have known it," Ash replied. Lance straightened up.  
  
"What would you do if you saw him?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess it would depend on who he was. I think though I would try and love him."  
  
"What if he was somebody you didn't like?"  
  
"I still would."  
  
"What if he was somebody that was a horrible person?"  
  
"I still would."  
  
"Even after he abandoned you?"  
  
"Even then."  
  
"What if...........what if he was me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Nine

Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Nine  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon.  
  
  
  
"I dream of rain   
I dream of gardens in the desert sand  
I wake in pain  
I dream of love as time runs through my hand.  
  
Sweet desert rose  
This memory of Eden haunts us all  
The desert flower, this rare perfume  
Is the sweet intoxication of the fall."  
--Sting, "Desert Rose"  
  
  
  
Ash stared at Lance for a good five minutes before he burst out laughing. This startled Lance, for that was not the reaction he had expected.Ash had tears forming in the corner of his chestnut eyes from his sudden bout of hysterics, but managed to calm himself down enough to gasp out,  
  
"Way to go, Lance. You had me there for minute. Good joke."  
  
He was too busy wiping his eyes with the back of his hand to notice the hurt expression flash across Lance's face.  
  
"Why is that so hard to believe?" he asked defensivily. Ash suddenly sobered, his eyes darkening in all out seriousness.   
  
"Because I don't hate you," he responded. He stared at Lance again as though he was trying to read the older man's thoughts. Lance was surprised by the intensity of Ash's gaze and he wished he knew what he was thinking.  
  
"I'm going to go to bed," Ash suddenly announced and stood up and turned to walk to his sleeping bag. He had no sooner turned his back when Lance spoke up again.  
  
"Well what if, Ash, I said it wasn't a joke?"  
  
Ash froze in his tracks. Lance continued, standing up and slowly walked towards Ash, who was visibly tensing.   
  
"What if," Lance began, laying a hand on Ash's shoulder and making the unresisting boy face him. Lance looked straight into his son's eyes and tried to ignore the flurry of emotions that existed there.  
  
"What if I said I had finally found my son?"  
  
Ash didn't dare to blink as he cautiously backed away. He maintained direct eye contact with Lance, looking every bit like he was a few inches away from a wild Tauros that was ready to charge.   
  
Lance's heart shattered at each step away Ash took.  
  
"You're lying to me," Ash whispered, all the color draining from his face. Lance took a step forward, holding his hand out slightly. This drove Ash back even faster, so Lance stopped. Ash regarded his offered hand as though it was a venemous Arbok, coiled and ready to strike.  
  
"I'm not lying, Ash. Why would I?" Lance asked, trying desperately to keep his tone nuetral. He was walking an extremely thin line as it was. If it was too threatening, it would frighten Ash away. But on the other hand, if it was too soft, vulnerable...well, Ash wasn't stupid. He was a pokemon trainer. He had the knowledge running in his very veins that softness in situations like these meant weakness, and weakness was to be despised, cast out with the smell of a Muk being held in higher esteem. Lance was nervous beyond all description, but his experience was stronger, forcing him to keep his poker face. He had played his cards. Now he had to wait for Ash. Waiting was never something Lance was good at...  
  
"God dammit, Ash, why would I lie!?" Lance yelled as Ash remained unresponsive. Ash flinched, but stayed his ground. Lance immediately regretted what had just flown out of his mouth.   
  
"I'm sorry," he said in a quieter tone. Ash narrowed his eyes.  
  
"For what?" Ash asked, his tone dropping quite a few degrees. The words were forced, as though he would rather be drinking poison than talking to this man. Lance's shoulders sagged.  
  
"I don't know," he replied softly.   
  
"That's not good enough, Lance."  
  
Lance snapped his head up, infamous temper ignited.  
  
"Well what do you want me to say, Ash!! Huh? What can I do!?"   
  
"You lied to me!" Ash screamed.   
  
"So did you!" Lance countered. "Just now! You said you would love your father no matter what, and here you are, looking at me as if I were the lowest thing alive! You said you would love your father!"  
  
"That was when I didn't think he was you!" Ash countered visciously. Lance fell silent, dropping his gaze to the ground.   
  
"Touché," he whispered. He could feel Ash's eyes boring into him, as though Ash believed that if he glared hard enough, Lance would burst into flames.   
  
'Maybe that's what he wants,' Lance thought.  
  
"Here you are," Ash began, his voice barely above a whisper, "The world at your fingertips after it was handed to you on a silver platter and you can't even find the time to even want to talk to me. Neither me nor my mom is good enough for the great Pokemon Master. Do you have any idea how hard it's been?"   
  
"Ash, once I stopped talking to your mother, I was afraid to start again, because I didn't know what would happen. And, as more time passed, I found it harder and harder to try and call her. Or you."  
  
"You made it worse."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Do you?" Ash questioned harshly.  
  
"Sometimes, late at night, I wake up and I find mom crying. She wouldn't tell me what it was about, but I knew. And I think you do to."  
  
"Ash, please don't-"  
  
"No. You need to hear this. Mom loved you with all of her heart. And sometimes, I think she still does, though I don't know why. And me, I never even knew it what it was like to have a father. You have no idea what it was like, going to school and having them have those stupid projects that ask what your father does. What he's like. And go up there in front of everyone and say 'I don't have one.' To have to always wonder and feel inferior while all of the other kids went on and one about their fathers. And you think I can forget that? What you did to mom?" Ash asked, biting back desperate sobs.   
  
Lance tightly shut his eyes, as he too tried to stop from crying, but it was futile.   
  
"Well, you're free, Lance. To go back to being on top of the world. I'm going back home," Ash said as he picked up his backpack.   
  
"Come on, Pikachu," he called and walked away. Lance fell to the ground, on hands and knees as he wept. He had lost his son again. And it was all his fault.   
  
****  
  
Ash sighed as he stood atop the hill that overlooked Pallet Town. He could see his house easily, so well that he could see his mother moving about the house in an effort to keep it spotless. Ash smiled slightly. His mother was such a good person, and she deserved much better than what Lance had done to her.  
  
"What do you think, Pikachu? Should we tell who we met?" Ash asked, looking down at his best friend in the entire world. Pikachu merely looked at him. Ash sighed and sat down, Pikachu hopping into his lap.   
  
"I don't know what to do, Pikachu. How can I just go back? I can't pretend that nothing happened?" Ash said, stroking Pikachu's back. "What do I do?"   
  
When Pikachu did not respond, Ash sighed again. He had wave after wave of the emotion betrayal flowing through him. Lance had done the unthinkable. True to his name, Lance had stabbed, gored, pierced through everything that Ash had dreamed of. And without pity.   
  
"I guess we had just better go home," he stated bitterly. "I don't think we'll be doing any pokemon training for a while," he said with quiet resolve and made to get up when he felt a hand closed over his mouth and he was drawn into a sudden capture. He struggled, but it was useless as he felt a needle puncture his skin. He quickly tired from the drug and eventually fell into the embrace of oblivion.   
  
****  
  
Giovanni laughed with absolute delight as Amanda appeared before him once again, this time with a new victim at her side. Ash glared at Giovanni, eyes flaring with such hatred that any other person would have wilted under such a stare.   
  
And here, Giovanni laughed.  
  
"Here I was, wondering how I was going to get Lance back and here the bait delivers himself to me!" Giovanni said, clapping his hands together.   
  
"I did not deliver myself to you. I was kidnapped!" Ash snapped. He was a little dizzy, having just recovered.   
  
"My, my, how you are just like your father," Giovanni commented with a smile.  
  
"I have no father," Ash expressed firmly. At this, Giovanni fell silent.  
  
"Well, now isn't this interesting? Lance defies me at every turn to protect his son, to the point of threatening me with death if I so much as looked at you, and here his son is declaring he has no father. Interesting. Very interesting," he said, drumming his finger tips on the desk. Ash studied his feet as though they held all the secrets in the universe.  
  
"What are you going to do? Make me join Team Rocket?" Ash questioned with disgust. Giovanni laughed again.  
  
"You join Team Rocket? Why in the world would I want you, you pathetic excuse for a pokemon trainer?"  
  
Ash flinched.   
  
"Why have second rate when I can have the best?"  
  
"Lance won't come for me, if that's what you are planning. He hates me now."   
  
"Oh, he'll come for you, Mr. Ketchum. He'll come. He'll ride in on a white horse to prove once and for all that he'd sell his soul for you and I'll have you right at my side, with you loudly claiming that you have no father. You'll be in 'danger' and he'll try to save you. I know him far better than you ever will. Once I have him again you'll be free to go. Free to go back to your normal life that you've always had and be free of him. You won't have to worry yourself about him anymore," Giovanni said in an almost reassuring tone. He stood up and moved in front of Ash, who kept his gaze to the ground.   
  
Giovanni reached up and grabbed Ash's lower jaw and pulled up, forcing the boy to look at him. Tears were forming in Ash's eyes, but a look of pure and unrestrained hatred flashed there as well.   
  
"You can punish him, Ash. You can inflict a deeper wound on him that no one else in the world can. You can hurt him. Just as he hurt you," Giovanni whispered, speaking as though he was offering Ash a room full of gold. He smiled and let go of Ash, hand dropping to his side.  
  
"Take him away, Amanda. Put him in holding room eighteen. He should be fine for the time being," he ordered. Amanda nodded and grabbed Ash by the arm. She moved him down a labyrinth of halls before guiding him into a small room. Ash walked in calmly, unsure of what would happen if he tried to escape.   
  
"I really hope that you're not going to do what he says," Amanda said, speaking up for the first time as Ash sat down on the cot in the corner. Ash glared at her.  
  
"Why?" he demanded.   
  
"I worked with your father. He really does love you. More than you can imagine," Amanda replied, her voice soft.   
  
"He sure has a funny way of showing it," Ash spat.   
  
"He made a mistake, Ash. He knows that. But it's time to let it go. Don't hurt him."  
  
"An eye for an eye," Ash said simply.   
  
"An eye for an eye, Ash, leads only to more blindness," Amanda said and shut the door, leaving Ash alone.   
  
****  
  
Lance violently poked at the fire with a stick, wondering briefly what would happen if he jumped in and just sat there. Would anyone mourn him? Would anyone really care?   
  
Certainly not Ash.   
  
Not anymore.   
  
Lance knew he did not need to jump into the fire. He was already being killed by one on the inside. Flames of self hatred and a sense of inferiority. Lance had always hated the kinds of people that deserted their kids, realizing only too late that he was one as well. Lance felt more tears. They frightened him, for he had never cried before he had gotten into this mess.   
  
A mess that he had created for himself, Lance corrected.   
  
Only Ash could reduce him to such a state. Only hope for Ash's approval, forgiveness could keep him from leaping over a cliff.   
  
He was so caught up in this spiral of dispair that he did not notice the Pidgeot land next to him. Only when it poked at him with its beak did Lance acknowledge it.   
  
The bird dropped a piece of paper and took off again before Lance could do anything.   
  
Brow furrowed in puzzlement, Lance picked up the paper. It was an unmarked envelope. He opened it and pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it.  
  
The handwriting was a neat scrawl that was both elegant and easy to read.   
  
Lance,   
  
That was a very foolish thing to do, defying me at every turn. And now you will pay for it. Ash is here, next to me, glaring at me with such intensity I have to make him close his eyes. It really is amazing how much he looks like you. I really see none of his mother in him. His eyes, his looks, and his personality is all you. He'll make a fine addition to Team Rocket. After all, if I can't have the best, his son will do. Thank you for your time. Giovanni.  
  
Lance began to shake with rage as he read the letter. How dare that son of a--  
  
He had Ash and if that was not enough, he had to mock him as well, acting as though it were nothing.   
  
The paper crumbled in Lance's death grip as Lance's dark side took over. The fire reflected in Lance's dark eyes, making it appear as though they themselves were flame. Anger was not strong enough for Lance.   
  
It was full out rage.   
  
A violent destructivness that could not be calmed.   
  
Lance threw the paper into the fire were it promptly burned into nothingness.   
  
****  
  
Lorelei yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen of the mansion, mumbling about it being four thirty in the morning and having the thunder storm wake her up. As well as a chant about a need for caffeine. She was reaching for the coffee maker when a loud bang made her jump. She turned to see, in the doorway, the distinct figure of Lance leaning against the frame. He was soaking wet, his naturally messy hair matted and flat against his skull. He was bent at the waist and panting heavily, as though he had just sprinted a marathon. He was cut in several places and looked like a survivor of a concentration camp. He was thin and deathly pale and had dark creases around his eyes.   
  
"Lance?" Lorelei breathed, frozen in place. Lance barely lifted his head. He hadn't the energy.  
  
"Running for two days straight...Ash is...Lorelei....help," Lance managed to gasp out before passing out.   
  
****  
  
"What do you think happened?" Bruno asked as he stood behind the couch where Lance lied, unconscious.   
  
"I don't know," Lorelei admitted as she wiped Lance's brow with a cool cloth. "He's burning up," she added, putting the back of her hand on Lance's cheek.   
  
"What should we do? I mean, remember what happened last time? Should we call Officer Jenny?" Bruno wondered aloud.   
  
"No, Bruno. Not until we figure out what is going on. I know he has a lot of explaining to do, but just look at him. Something has happened to him, and I am willing to bet it's the same thing that made him steal our pokemon."  
  
"In other words, Team Rocket happened to him," Agatha said, speaking up for the first time.   
  
"Exactly," a strained voice answered. Everyone jumped as they turned to Lance, who now had his eyes open.   
  
"Lance!" Lorelei exclaimed. "What happened?" she asked. Lance grimaced as he tried to sit up.   
  
"Like I said, Team Rocket."  
  
"You're going to have to go into more detail than that, I'm afraid," Bruno said. Lance fell back onto his pillow.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Listen, you don't have to say anything right now. Just rest. I'll get you some water. Are you hungry?" Lorelei asked. Lance shook his head.  
  
"Too bad. You're going to eat anyway," she responded and went to go to the kitchen. Lance closed his eyes, wondering how he was going to explain this to all of his friends.   
  
Lorelei came back with a sandwich and a glass of water in her hands. She handed the water to Lance, who took a cautious sip.   
  
"I know you guys all hate me, and I do not deny my actions. However, if you'll just listen to the story..."  
  
"It better be good," Bruno said. Lorelei glared back at the Rock Pokemon master.   
  
"Oh it is. The leader of Team Rocket kidnapped me and forced me to obey him."  
  
"How?"  
  
"By using Ash against me," Lance whispered. Lorelei pulled back, stunned. She knew how devoted to Ash Lance was.   
  
"He told me that if I did not do as he said, he would kill Ash," Lance said, the tears forming again as he remembered each encounter with Giovanni. The other Three Elite members looked astonished that a person could do such a thing.   
  
"I tried to resist him, guys, really I did. But now he has Ash and all of our pokemon, mine included. He gave me fake ones," Lance said as he fingered the pokeballs that hung from his belt.   
  
"I've been running constantly for the past two days to get here. I'm not asking forgiveness. I don't deserve it. In fact, I deserve to be jailed like all of the other criminals. But right now I am asking for help. I want my son back," Lance said.   
  
"Well of course we'll help, Lance," Lorelei said, putting a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Of course we'll help," she whispered. Lance smiled weakly as she stood up and summoned the others to follow her into the next room.   
  
Lance could not help but notice that she did not say that they forgave him.   
  
****  
  
"So who exactly is the leader of Team Rocket?" Bruno asked, crossing his arms over his chest. The Elite were all sitting in the living room, deciding about how they were going to go about this. Lance looked at him, a little hesitant to answer.  
  
"Giovanni," he replied quietly. Lorelei's jaw dropped, and Agatha and Bruno gasped.   
  
"Giovanni!? But...he..."  
  
"I know. That was pretty much my reaction."  
  
"There always was something weird about him," Bruno said thoughtfully, looking as though a sudden things made sense.   
  
"One of our own gym leaders," Agatha commented, shaking her head.   
  
"And I picked him," Lance said angrily, his hands clenching into fists.  
  
"Now, Lance, we all picked him," Lorelei said, trying to calm Lance down.   
  
"I trusted him," Lance said through clenched teeth. Lorelei did not know how to respond to that one.   
  
"So, how are we going to go about this?" Bruno asked, changing the subject. Lorelei cast him a grateful look.   
  
"I don't know," Lance answered.  
  
"I say we just grab all of the Officer Jenny's we can get and storm the place," Bruno commented. Lorelei sighed.   
  
"No, Team Rocket HQ is too well protected against something like that. To Officer Jenny it would seem like and ordinary gym. And why would she believe what I say, anyway? They're all covinced I'm part of Team Rocket. Too many sightings."  
  
"Do you have a plan?" Lorelei asked hopefully.  
  
"Hang on, I'm thinking......how about this: you three go in and talk to Giovanni. Um...say that you are still looking for me, I don't care why, either to kill me or rescue me and you are asking all of the gym leaders for help, while I search the rest of HQ for Ash," Lance suggested. Lorelei nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"That would work, but what are we supposed to do afterword, Lance? Make a citizen's arrest?" Bruno asked. Lance fell silent and chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. Lorelei could practically see the wheels turning in his head.   
  
"Officer Jenny may not believe my testimony, but she would believe Ash's. If I can get him to testify against Giovanni..."  
  
"Sounds good enough to me," Bruno said, standing up. Lance smiled.  
  
"Tomorrow, we do it," Bruno added and walked away. Agatha also departed, but Lorelei remained.   
  
"Lance, there's something else bothering you, isn't there?" she asked. Lance bowed his head.   
  
"I talked with Ash. He...he..."  
  
"You told him, didn't you?"   
  
Lance nodded.   
  
"How did he take it?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Lance, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, Lorelei. I deserved worse, actually. I just want to be left alone, right now," he said. Lorelei nodded and left Lance to his thoughts.   
  
****  
  
"I'll have him out in about ten minutes," Lance assured as his three friends gave him skeptical looks. They were all in the forest, ready to take   
  
"Are you guys ready?" Bruno asked. Lorelei and Agatha nodded.   
  
"Okay then, let's go," he said, clapping his hands together and walking towards the gym, Agatha right behind him. Lorelei paused for a moment.   
  
"Be careful, okay Lance?"  
  
"Just keep Giovanni talking," Lance said. Lorelei nodded and followed the other two. Lance waited until they were inside to quietly slip inside, unnoticed.   
  
Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha walked up to Giovanni's office and knocked on the door.   
  
"Come in," Giovanni called out. The trio entered, putting their acting skills to the test.  
  
"My! What a surprise I have here!" Giovanni exclaimed as he saw them. "To what do I owe this pleasant visit?"  
  
"I'm afraid we aren't here for pleasure," Bruno said. Lorelei tried her best to look devastated.  
  
"Giovanni, we still haven't been able to locate Lance and we're awfully worried. I mean, something has happened to him. I'm sure that you were made aware that he stole our pokemon a little while back?" Lorelei said. Giovanni nodded.   
  
"We don't know what to do. We have no choice but to turn him in. But we don't know where he is. We're asking for all of the gym leaders' help," Agatha said. Giovanni regarded the trio thoughtfully.  
  
"Perhaps he doesn't want to be found."  
  
"Well--"  
  
"Or perhaps," Giovanni cut in. "Other people don't want you to find him," he said. Lorelei took a moment to process the statement before her eyes widened in realization.  
  
He knows what we're doing...  
  
Lorelei turned to run when she was stopped by several Team Rocket members. They had gray uniforms on.   
  
"Do you all think that I am stupid?" Giovanni laughed as the TR members pointed their weapons at the Elite.   
  
"How'd you know what we were doing?" Bruno asked calmly.   
  
"You'd be surprised at where I have my eyes and ears," Giovanni responded, petting his Persian's head. He looked straight at Lorelei. "Where is Lance?"  
  
***  
  
Lance carefully made his way through the underground maze, keeping to the shadows and avoiding every Team Rocket member that he saw. He darted behind a corner and waited for two white Rockets to pass. He was about to keep going when he heard a voice.  
  
"I knew you'd come for him."  
  
Lance jumped and turned to see a figure, hiding in the shadows with him. The figure stepped forwards and Lance sighed in relief.  
  
"Amanda..."  
  
"Holding cell eighteen," she said. Lance nodded and continued on.   
  
He eventually made it to the cell and looked in.  
  
There was no one there.  
  
"What-"  
  
Lance was cut off as he was suddenly attacked from all sides by several Team Rocket members. They gagged him and forced him down onto the ground where they mercilessly pounded into him.  
  
Only when he was too weak to fight back did they stop and drag him back up to a standing position.   
  
"You're late. Giovanni was expecting you a lot sooner," one of the Rockets said, whispering into Lance's ear. Lance let out a small cry and they dragged him back up to the stadium.   
  
****  
  
Lance grunted as he was thrown to the ground, blood flying out of his mouth. He climbed to his hands and knees, coughing all the way.   
  
"Well, well, well. The natural order of things. Lance on his hands and knees in front of me," Giovanni called out with a little laugh. Lance snapped his head up to see Giovanni on the other side of the stadium, along with Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha. All of them were being held at gunpoint.   
  
Lance growled and jumped up to attack him when the Rockets behind him aimed their guns at him. He froze. Giovanni turned around, back to Lance.  
  
"You can come out now. Come and see your father," he said. This caught Lance's attention. He watched as Ash stepped out of the shadows and walked up next to Giovanni.  
  
"Ash..." Lance breathed.   
  
"I once heard you say, Lance, that you would do anything that Ash asked you to do. It was quite a while back but I'm sure it still stands. Here you go, Ash," Giovanni said, handing Ash a piece of paper and a pen.   
  
"Just sign here and your father becomes part of Team Rocket. Sign and you will be free of him forever. I promise. Free to go back to a normal life," Giovanni said. Lance's mouth dropped open, his heart breaking into a million pieces. His son hated him. Ash looked at the pen in his hands.   
  
Giovanni continued.  
  
"All you have to do is sign, Ash. What do you say?"   



End file.
